Celebrating Fact-checking Around The Globe

It's International Fact-Checking Day, an event to highlight the work of fact-checkers around the world.

In a message marking the day, Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the the International Fact-Checking Network, noted the recent challenges faced by fact-checkers, including a loss of funding and attacks on fact-checkers and their organizations.

"This is indeed a crisis for fact-checkers, but it's even worse for the general public," Holan said Wednesday. "Disinformation hurts people. It has real-world consequences. Without fact-checking, more grandparents will fall victim to financial scams. Adults will refuse to vaccinate children against proven killers like measles. Teens will read faked reports of current events with no way to tell them apart from the real thing."

The IFCN launched in 2015, started the event in 2016 and has more than 170 members around the world. Each signatory has been vetted and approved by independent assessors. They are required to show a commitment to nonpartisanship and transparency, about both sources and funding.

AP Fact Check is a member of the IFCN, a unit of the Poynter Institute.