Global Fact-Checkers Rally in Vilnius Amid Shifting Funding Landscape
The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) convened in Vilnius, Lithuania, this June for the annual GlobalFact conference, gathering hundreds of experts from over 55 countries. Set against the backdrop of the Baltic region—a frontline for Russian information warfare—the event served as both a rallying cry and an urgent assessment of the “democratic infrastructure” fact-checkers provide. Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas emphasized that in an era of cognitive warfare, independent truth-seeking is as critical to national security as military artillery. Yet, the atmosphere was tempered by a sober reality: as the threats they combat grow more sophisticated, the financial and structural support for fact-checkers is rapidly eroding.
The conference highlighted a widening divide between governmental and corporate rhetoric and the reality on the ground. While Lithuanian leadership championed the importance of the profession, participants noted a decline in engagement from major U.S. institutions and big tech. Since 2024, the dissolution of U.S. government grant programs and a shift in Meta’s strategy—prioritizing crowdsourced “Community Notes” over professional verification—has dealt a significant blow to the industry. IFCN director Angie Drobnic Holan addressed the conspicuously low turnout of tech giants, urging platforms to recognize that professional fact-checking is an essential public service, not a partisan endeavor, and calling for a renewed commitment to accurate information.
Facing a precarious financial future, many organizations are moving away from an over-reliance on dwindling philanthropic grants. Experts at the conference proposed a “diversified revenue” model, suggesting that newsrooms treat their work as a viable economic product rather than just a public good. Strategies discussed included paid editorial products for niche professional audiences, such as legal or medical sectors, and the development of commercial software. For instance, Argentina’s Chequeado has successfully launched an AI-powered transcription tool, while Kenya’s Africa Uncensored balances philanthropic support with commercial production deals, proving that creative diversification is key to long-term sustainability.
Beyond the challenge of funding, the conference grappled with the rise of “LLM poisoning”—a tactic where disinformation networks flood the internet with fabricated content specifically to train and manipulate generative AI models. Speakers like Finnish researcher Pekka Kallioniemi warned that platforms like ChatGPT and Claude have become the new battlefield for narrative control, as automated processes now replace the labor-intensive troll farms of the past. To combat this, researchers are developing new tools like “AIdas,” which allows journalists to compare bias across multiple AI models, helping newsrooms identify how specific platforms mirror or amplify the ideological premises embedded in user prompts.
The necessity for cross-border cooperation was the defining theme for Central and Eastern European delegates, who argue that modern disinformation is a coordinated transnational threat. Because campaigns targeting Baltic states often bleed into the broader European sphere, journalists from countries like Estonia, Hungary, and Poland are increasingly adopting borderless investigative models. By centralizing knowledge and verifying claims across regions, these newsrooms aim to create a unified front against campaigns that attempt to exploit domestic vulnerabilities for regional instability, reflecting a sentiment shared by participants worldwide: if the adversaries are cooperating, the defenders of truth must do the same.
The event concluded with a focus on scaling technical resources through initiatives like the Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU). Originally launched in India, the DAU now provides global verification expertise to IFCN-certified newsrooms, allowing smaller organizations from the Philippines to Japan to access sophisticated detection capabilities they could not build alone. As the conference drew to a close, the consensus was clear: while the landscape of artificial intelligence and funding instability poses an existential test, the professionalization and international integration of fact-checking networks remain the most potent defenses against the automated, borderless manipulation of the global information environment.
