FACT-CHECKERS and journalism organisations from around the world have been honoured for their outstanding contributions to truth and accountability during the Global Fact 12 Awards, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The awards ceremony which took place on June 26, 2025 and hosted by Enock Nyariki on behalf of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), celebrated achievements in impact, collaboration, and journalistic excellence, marking the culmination of the world’s largest annual fact-checking summit.
Nyariki said the awards are designed to spotlight the very best of fact-checking work across languages, regions, and formats over the past year while noting that a change was made this year.
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“The change we made this year was a change of voting model on finalists to assembling independent expert judges to review all the submissions. Some of the judges come from fact-checking journalism, academia, research, AI. The feedback they have given us is that they had a very tough time just electing one to win,” he said.
The four awards given at the ceremony include the Impact Award, Creative Format Award, Collaboration Award, and the Gold Standard Award.
The Impact Award was presented to Aos Fatos of Brazil. The judges commended the newsroom for its live fact-checking during the São Paulo mayoral debate, which featured near real-time updates, sharp sourcing, strong visuals, and effective collaboration that influenced election conversations.
Also, the Creative Format Award was presented to Tempo from Indonesia which was praised for its phishing awareness game that demonstrated how media literacy can be both engaging and educational. Judges said the game successfully taught users how to spot false information without losing their attention.
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Similarly, the Collaboration Award went to FactChequeado in the United States for uniting Spanish-language outlets with major US partners such as FactCheck.org, USA Today, and PolitiFact. Their joint effort to fight election misinformation at scale was recognised for setting a new benchmark in shared editorial workflows and audience reach.
Meanwhile, the highest honour of the night, the Gold Standard Award was awarded to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The organisation was recognised for a months-long investigation into disinformation around South China Sea warship access, combining robust fact-checking with investigative reporting and actionable tips for readers. Judges noted the piece’s public service value and editorial excellence.
The IFCN director, Angie Holan, in her remarks earlier, urged fact-checkers to evolve their methods without compromising their values, citing threats posed by disinformation, artificial intelligence, and funding challenges.
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She called for renewed collaboration with technology companies, fair compensation for fact-checkers, and sustained support for independent journalism. “The future of fact-checking rests on our ability to evolve methods while holding firm to our values,” she said, adding that “the work ahead will be difficult, but it is vital. And in that work, truth alone triumphs.”
The award ceremony concluded with applause for all entrants and a reminder of the growing relevance of fact-checking in a world increasingly influenced by misinformation and political polarisation.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org.
