No fewer than 500 fact-checkers from 80 countries, including Nigeria, are converging on Lithuania for the 13th edition of the GlobalFact Summit, the world’s largest gathering of fact-checking organisations and information-integrity experts.
This is contained in a statement issued by Angie Holan, Director of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), the organiser of the event, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The four-day summit, commencing from June 17 to June 19 in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, will bring together fact-checkers, journalists, researchers and technology experts to discuss emerging challenges in the global information ecosystem.
Nigeria is being represented at the summit by Miss Temilade Onilede, Programme Manager at DUBAWA, the fact-checking arm of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
A major focus of discussions at the summit is managing global information integrity in an increasingly digital culture, amid growing concerns over misinformation, disinformation and the impact of emerging technologies on public discourse.
The 12th edition of the summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
According to Holan, the event is being organised by the IFCN at Poynter in partnership with the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), Baltic digital news network Delfi and Lithuania’s Radio and Television ( LRT).
She said discussions at the summit would focus on key issues affecting fact-checking and journalism in the digital age.
Holan said participants would examine the opportunities and risks associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI), including the use of AI tools for verification and the growing challenge of AI-driven misinformation.
She added that the summit would also explore sustainable funding models for fact-checking organisations while maintaining editorial independence.
According to her, discussions will further focus on strategies for reaching audiences who increasingly consume information through social media platforms, algorithms and chatbots.
Holan said investigative journalism would also feature prominently, with special sessions led by LRT.
She announced the launch of “GlobalFact Virtual,” a new year-round series of online seminars designed to enable fact-checkers across the world to continue collaborating and sharing insights beyond the summit.
”The initiative will strengthen international cooperation and support efforts to combat misinformation globally,” she said.
