00:00In a bid to fight back against mass online disinformation, an increasing number of fact-checking
00:11outlets are cropping up online.
00:13While some are integrated into traditional newsrooms, others are stand-alone entities.
00:18But what happens when fact-checking websites become vehicles used to conceal propaganda
00:24campaigns?
00:25This is the case of the Global Fact-Checking Network, which started posting articles in April
00:292025.
00:30Although it may seem like a legitimate fact-checking website, in reality it is a Kremlin-backed
00:36disinformation tool.
00:37The organization's name is very similar to the established International Fact-Checking
00:41Network, which is a reputable consortium of international fact-checkers.
00:46This is unlikely to be a coincidence.
00:48The co-founders of the outlet include Russian state news agency TASS, as well as Anno Dialogue,
00:53a non-governmental organization which is under sanctions from the US and EU.
00:57The Kremlin's spokesperson for foreign affairs, Maria Zakharova, has said the platform's aim
01:02is to fight what she called fake stories, as well as disinformation promoted by the West
01:06and biased fact-checkers.
01:08The Global Fact-Checking Network's website is available in English and Russian, listing
01:12a range of experts and participants who contribute to its fact-checking work.
01:16While the outlet is still relatively new, established fact-checking organizations have flagged factual
01:21mistakes and pro-Russian narratives in the outlet's articles.
01:25Many of the platform's contributors are known Russian propagandists, who have also worked
01:30for Kremlin state-aligned outlets.
01:32For instance, one of its contributors is the African Initiative, which presents itself as
01:36a Russian news agency which covers events on the African continent.
01:40In reality, it has been classified as the main vehicle for Russia's disinformation activities
01:44in Africa by France's agency for foreign digital interference, Vignium.
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