Collaboration is the key

The CoronaVirusFacts Alliance is the largest collaborative project ever launched in the fact-checking world. For this reason, it has faced obvious barriers (like language and time differences) and new challenges. The toughest of them is that we don’t know when the crisis will end.

The number of audience queries about the virus surpassed what we received during recent elections, which typically generate surges of misinformation. This, combined with the need for faster answers and the financial difficulties some organizations are facing, has meant the fact-checking community is working under tough circumstances.

And yet, the novel coronavirus is a developing story that scientists and journalists all over the world are still researching. Fact-checkers have learned that applying dates and times to our work is essential.

The CoronaVirusFacts Alliance has also proven that falsehoods travel fast around the planet. This reinforces the importance of working together. Members see each other as partners in a big international newsroom. We are not competing.

We have demonstrated that transparency, credible sources and media literacy are powerful tools against mis/disinformation. And we hope these concepts spread throughout the world too.