THE International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the Poynter Institute has announced keynote speakers for the 12th edition of Global Fact-checking Summit.
The world’s largest fact-checking summit, scheduled for June 25 – 27 will be hosted at Fundação Getulio Vargas Comunicação in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The conference will feature Brazilian jurists, Alexandre de Moraes and Cármen Lúcia, as well as Attorney General, Jorge Messias, a statement by the IFCN stated.
It will also feature journalists Patricia Campos Mello, Jaime Abello and Laura Zommer, who will discuss information integrity, democracy, technology and human rights.
They will speak on Brazil’s experiences with disinformation and the rule of law.
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This year’s edition is hosted in partnership with four Brazilian fact-checking organizations — Aos Fatos, Estadão Verifica, Lupa, UOL Confere — and with Fundação Getulio Vargas Comunicação.
Alexandre de Moraes is a Minister of the Federal Supreme Court and served as President of the Superior Electoral Court from 2022 to 2024, overseeing Brazil’s general elections. He previously served as Minister of Justice and Public Security, and held state-level roles as Secretary of Public Security and Secretary of Justice and Citizenship. In 2005, he joined the first composition of the National Council of Justice. He is a full professor of constitutional law at the University of São Paulo and the Presbyterian University Mackenzie.
Cármen Lúcia is a Minister of the Federal Supreme Court, having served as President of the Court and of the National Council of Justice from 2016 to 2018. She also held the positions of Minister and President of the Superior Electoral Court from 2008 to 2013. In June 2024, she took office as President of the Electoral Court. She is a full professor of constitutional law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais.
Jorge Messias is Brazil’s Attorney General of the Union, appointed in 2023 by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A career public servant, he has served as a National Treasury Attorney since 2007 and held senior legal roles across the federal government. Messias holds a law degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco and both a master’s and doctorate from the University of Brasília, with academic work focused on development, society and international cooperation.
De Moraes, Lúcia and Messias will speak to Brazil’s experiences with disinformation and the rule of law.
Patrícia Campos Mello is an award-winning journalist and columnist at Folha de S.Paulo in Brazil, known for her reporting on disinformation, digital violence and global crises. She has covered stories in over 50 countries, including conflicts in Syria and Iraq and the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Her investigation into WhatsApp disinformation during Brazil’s 2018 election drew international acclaim. She holds a journalism degree from the University of São Paulo and a master’s from NYU. Campos Mello is the author of “Lua de Mel em Kobane” and “A Máquina do Ódio.”
Laura Zommer is the co-founder of Factchequeado in the United States, as well as the former director and editor-in-chief at Chequeado of Argentina. Zommer was the creator of LatamChequea, the largest regional fact-checking network that brings together more than 30 media platforms in 15 countries across Latin America. She is a former member of the IFCN advisory board, and currently is a Knight Fellow at the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).
Jaime Abello Banfi is general director and co-founder of the Fundación Gabo, an organization created in 1994 in Cartagena by author, Gabriel García Márquez, a Nobel Laureate in Literature in 1982.
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Its mission is to promote better journalism and stimulate creativity, with an emphasis on the workshop method and the founder’s memory. Before joining the Gabo Foundation, Jaime was, from 1990 to 1994, the Director-Manager of Telecaribe, the regional public television channel of the Colombian Caribbean.
He graduated from the Law Faculty of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá but has dedicated his professional life to journalism, film, communication, and cultural management.
Campos Mello, Zommer and Abello will speak about fact-checking journalism, human rights, technology and the challenges of creating an informed future society.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
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