MANILA, Philippines – Every year, members of the International Fact-checking Network (IFCN) promote April 2 as International Fact-checking Day. This is to remind everyone that debunking disinformation should be practiced not just by journalists and fact-checkers alike, but by ordinary citizens as well.
For the IFCN, Fact-Checking Day is “an annual celebration and rallying cry for more truth in public health, journalism, and everyday life.”
The recent years have acquainted us with the impact of networked disinformation as it played a major role in the 2016 and 2019 elections. As the Philippines is only a month away before the 2022 elections, we know how disinformation will affect how voters will choose our country’s next leaders. Therefore amplifying the truth is crucial in these times to promote facts in public spaces, demand accountability from perpetrators, and to provide information among citizens and voters.
Fact-checkers, however, cannot fight disinformation on their own. That being said, the involvement of the community through civic participation and voters’ education is also crucial in making sure we win this fight.
This year in alignment with Rappler’s #FactsFirstPH initiative – a community effort which aims to fight disinformation, various organizations and newsrooms are adjusting their calls through events and online campaigns to emphasize the importance of truth and facts ahead of the 2022 elections.
Here are some activities and ways where you can celebrate the International Fact-checking Day and take part in propagating a culture of fact-checking:
Take part in #FactsFirstPH
In solidarity with the efforts of #FactsFirstPH you may do the following:
Share verified information
One of the goals of the #FactsFirstPH is to create a network of organizations and individuals that will share fact-checked articles to a wider audience, hoping to rally more Filipinos to take part in the battle for facts.
You may take part in the amplification of truth by joining the #FactsFirstPH Facebook group, and sharing 3 to 5 fact check articles a day which are produced by participating newsrooms.
Make sure you use #FactsFirstPH and set your post privacy to “Public”.
Join the #FactsFirstPH conversation on Twitter Spaces
On April 2 at 8 pm, Rappler, together with the #FactsFirstPH initiative partners, will hold a Twitter Space that aims to discuss the fact-checkers’ learnings, challenges, and memorable experiences in fact-checking.
In this Twitter Space, we will be joined by:
- Loreben Tuquero, a writer and researcher from Rappler
- Marjo Tucay, a reporter from AlterMidya
- Frank Cimatu, a columnist from the Baguio Chronicle
The Twitter space will be hosted through Rappler’s Twitter account.
Join other activities
International Fact-Checking Network
The International Fact-Checking Network will be conducting IFCN talks throughout the week of April 4. This will be a series of webinars, and subjects ranging from the collaborative fact-checking project #UkraineFacts, and community efforts to tackle the harassment of fact-checkers.
The details of the talks are as follows:
- Day 1
On April 4, Monday, the week-long event will start with a talk titled “What happens when fact-checkers join forces. Lessons learned from #UkraineFacts” from 9-10 am E.T. (GMT-5). This will be hosted by IFCN’s International Training Manager Alanna Dvorak, and paneled by Andrés Jiménez, Yuliia Zhaha, and Ahmad Primo. Participants may register here.
- Day 2
This will be followed by “Addressing harassment against fact-checkers,” on April 5, Tuesday, at 9-10 am E.T. (GT-5). Hosted by IFCN’s Community and Impact Manager Enock Nyariki, speakers are Emmanuel Vincent, Rabiu Alhassan, and Ellen Tordesillas. Click here to register.
- Day 3
The talk titled “Supporting the fact-checking community. IFCN’s grant making efforts,” will wrap-up the event on April 6, Wednesday, at the same time–9-10 am E.T. (GT-5). This will be hosted by IFCN’s Program Manager Ferdi Özsoy, and will be paneled by Urvashi Kapoor, Desiree Garcia Pruñonosa, and Elin Yunita. Participants may register here.
PressOne.PH
PressOne.PH, a local news and information website, recently launched #TruthHour, an online disinformation campaign, last March 26, Saturday in time with the global observance of Earth Hour. Through its social media accounts, a series of fact-check stories are featured using the parallelism of “darkness and disinformation, and light and facts” in the form of quote cards.
The campaign continues April 2 in celebration of International Fact-checking Day.
Do you know of any activities and initiatives done to celebrate International Fact-Checking Day? Send details to move.ph@rappler.com or info@factsfirst.ph! – Rappler.com