Independent news organizations PressOne.PH and MindaNews are the latest members of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN).
The Philippines now has four IFCN-accredited fact checking organizations with the successful applications of PressOne.PH and MindaNews.
The other two IFCN-accredited news organizations from the Philippines are Vera Files and Rappler. Agence France-Presse, which has a Manila bureau, also conducts fact-checks.
The IFCN at Poynter was launched in 2015 to bring together “fact-checkers around the world and advocates of factual information in the global fight against misinformation.”
The network, which has some 100 members, promotes fact-checking and accountability in journalism through advocacy, training and global events.
PressOne.PH and MindaNews qualified as the newest members of the network after they passed the IFCN’s assessment of their commitment to nonpartisanship and fairness, transparency of funding and organization, transparency of sources, transparency of fact-checking methodology, and open and honest corrections.
Founded in 2019, PressOne.PH is committed to the cause of responsible journalism and the free press for the common good and the fight against disinformation and propaganda. In 2022, PressOne.PH was incorporated as a subsidiary of Areopagus Communications Inc.
MindaNews is the news service arm of the Mindanao Institute of Journalism (MinJourn), composed of independent, professional journalists who believe and practice people empowerment through media. It was founded in 2001 as a media cooperative and registered in January 2017 as a nonstock, nonprofit media organization.
PressOne.PH and MindaNews were part of the Philippine Fact Checker Incubator Program of Internews, an international nonprofit organization that supports independent media organizations worldwide.
Selected media organizations received a comprehensive support package that includes training, technical and financial support, mentorship, and guidance following global fact-checking standards like those of the IFCN Code of Principles.
PressOne.PH was also part of the fact-checking coalitions Tsek.ph and #FactsFirstPH.
To read more about PressOne.PH’s fact-checking policy, click here.- Rommel F. Lopez