00:00How reliable is Russia's new fact-checking outlet?
00:06In a bid to fight back against mass online disinformation,
00:10an increasing number of fact-checking outlets are cropping up online.
00:13While some are integrated into traditional newsrooms,
00:16others are standalone entities.
00:19But what happens when fact-checking websites
00:21become vehicles used to conceal propaganda campaigns?
00:24This is the case of the Global Fact-Checking Network,
00:27which started posting articles in April 2025.
00:31Although it may seem like a legitimate fact-checking website,
00:34in reality it is a Kremlin-backed disinformation tool.
00:37The organization's name is very similar
00:39to the established International Fact-Checking Network,
00:42which is a reputable consortium of international fact-checkers.
00:45This is unlikely to be a coincidence.
00:48The co-founders of the outlet include Russian state news agency TASS,
00:51as well as Anno Dialogue, a non-governmental organization
00:54which is under sanctions from the US and EU.
00:57The Kremlin's spokesperson for foreign affairs, Maria Zakharova,
01:00has said the platform's aim is to fight what she calls fake stories,
01:04as well as disinformation promoted by the West and biased fact-checkers.
01:08The Global Fact-Checking Network's website is available in English and Russian,
01:11listing a range of experts and participants
01:13who contribute to its fact-checking work.
01:16While the outlet is still relatively new,
01:18established fact-checking organizations
01:20have flagged factual mistakes
01:21and pro-Russian narratives in the outlet's articles.
01:25Many of the platform's contributors
01:26are known Russian propagandists,
01:29who have also worked for Kremlin-state-aligned outlets.
01:32For instance, one of its contributors
01:33is the African Initiative,
01:35which presents itself as a Russian news agency
01:37which covers events on the African continent.
01:40In reality, it has been classified as the main vehicle
01:42for Russia's disinformation activities in Africa
01:45by France's Agency for Foreign Digital Interference, Vignium.
01:50For more information, visit www.fema.gov.au
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