95% of European fact-checkers want to have a voice in defining public policies against disinformation

Almost all European verification organizations (95.7%) want to participate in the public debate on how to combat disinformation and demand that the institutions listen to them. They do it because they believe they have a lot to contribute: 87% say that through their activity they have learned lessons that would make policies and regulations against disinformation more effective. However, 81% believe that fact-checkers are not adequately represented in these debates at the European level.

These are just two of the findings of the first European study on fact-checking organizations and their vision of public policies against disinformation. This is a survey carried out by Maldita.es in collaboration with the International Fact-checking Network (IFCN), in which 24 organizations from 18 countries have given their opinion on their own capacity to participate in the public debate and on the main issues relevant to disinformation.   

78% of verification organizations in Europe would like to be more active in debates on public policies against disinformation but, among them, two out of three say they do not have sufficient resources to do so. Even organizations that do dedicate staff to work in the area of ​​public policy usually only have one person who does it and who spends less than five hours a week doing it.

To compensate for this lack of resources, fact-checkers choose to collaborate with each other: 87% have spoken with other European fact-checkers on issues related to public policies in the last year and 65% have participated in alliances with other organizations. However, they think there is still a way to go: more than 95% believe that the European fact-checking community would benefit from having a single voice when interacting with digital platforms and public officials.

Petitions to governments and large platforms

When asked about the role of public institutions in the fight against disinformation, 81% of European fact-checkers believe they can play an effective role, but even more, 86%, warn of the risk that some of their actions could be misinterpreted as censorship or manipulation by power. Overall, they have much more confidence in public action when it is taken at European rather than national level. For example, 86% support the creation of a European regulator for digital platforms, while less than half would see this measure as effective at national level.

Regarding the large digital platforms, almost all fact-checking organizations in Europe, 95.6%, believe that these companies would be more effective against disinformation if they had verifiers working with them to design their moderation mechanisms. 87% also believe that these companies should use fact-checkers’ content as a basis for their decisions in this area, and that if they do, they should pay for what they use (95%).

While 87% of fact checkers believe that labels on misleading content or other graphic resources are effective in combating misinformation, there are many other things they believe large digital platforms can do. 100% want them to give researchers, civil society organizations, and fact-checkers themselves more access to their data. The same unanimity exists for funding independent media literacy initiatives.

The responses from fact-checking organizations reflected in the study were obtained through an 85-question online survey that was sent last summer to all European fact-checking organizations that are signatories to the International Fact-Checking Code of Principles. Checking Network (IFCN). 24 organizations from 18 countries participated, a third of which were based in European countries that are not members of the European Union. You can download the full report here.