International Fact-Checking Network will be based at Poynter's headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida
Fact-checking has a new global network after the media studies Poynter Institute announced plans Monday for a new body to support efforts to root out false claims from the media.
The project "will support and study the work of 64 fact-checking organizations spanning six continents," Poynter said in a statement.
Funded by grants from the Omidyar Network of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Fact-Checking Network will be based at Poynter's headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Alexios Mantzarlis, who was most recently managing editor of the Italian-based fact-checking group Pagella Politica, was named director and editor of the project, which will launch in October.
Mantzarlis co-founded factcheckeu.org, Europe's first crowd-checking platform. In addition, he presented a weekly fact-checking segment on "Virus," on Italy's public broadcasting network.
In his duties, Mantzarlis will highlight the best practices of fact-checking, and the impact of the work and will produce a weekly fact-checking newsletter.
"Poynter's mission is to advance journalistic excellence that serves democracy," said Poynter president Tim Franklin.
© 2015 AFP
