IFCN Crowdfunding Match Program - Poynter

IFCN will match up to $50,000 in contributions made to crowdfunding campaigns run by fact-checking organizations around the world.

Since 2017, the International Fact-Checking Network has financially assisted fact-checkers in Turkey, Argentina, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain by matching the money

they make on their own crowdfunding campaigns.

So far, $55,000 has been provided to five different organizations that applied to the IFCN’s Crowdfunding Matching Program to develop different projects such as covering national elections

and developing data-driven tools.

For its fourth edition, the program will match crowdfunding campaigns up to $50,000, a total that can (once more) be split by at least two and up to four different fact-checking

organizations.

Read more about the rules, application process and projects that have benefited from this program below

$10,000 in September-December 2017. Fully assigned (see below).

$30,000 in January-December 2018. Fully assigned(see below).

$15,000 in January-December 2019. Fully assigned(see below).

Chequeado conducted its fifth annual crowdfunding campaign between Sept. 18 and Oct. 22, 2017. The campaign sought small donations from a diffuse group of donors. Crowdfunding is the ideal

platform by which we preserve our autonomy and editorial independence. Furthermore, this campaign had the added advantage of creating a medium through which we could directly involve our

audience in our mission. This was especially significant as, beyond fact-checking, Chequeado seeks to engage and educate the public in the process of fact-checking. Our aim was to raise

$150.000 ARS (around $8,500) through 200 donors. Our message this year was clear and at the core of Chequeado´s mission: Become one of the 200 defenders of truth. We surpassed our goal,

raising $193.696 ARS (around $11,000) through 215 donors. In addition, thanks to IFCN matching fund of $5,000, we reached a total of $16,000. With this support, we have been able to cover

the midterm elections in Argentina, contributing to the debate with facts and fact-checking the leading candidates.

Dogruluk Payi from Turkey had a successful two-week-long fundraising campaign, collecting 30.000 Turkish Liras ($7,500)  from 342 supporters. The fundraising campaign supported by the IFCN

crowd-funding match program was instrumental in developing the bond between the Turkish fact-checking organization and its follower base, which counts up to 200,000 users on Facebook and

Twitter combined. RTs and endorsements from various figures, including celebrities in the country, showed how Dogruluk Payi managed to present fact-checking as a tool to promote data-driven

political discourse in the politically polarized country.

In December 2017, the Ukrainian fact-checking project VoxCheck started monitoring and rating of statements of top Ukrainian politicians ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in

Ukraine in 2019. At the same time, VoxCheck launched its second crowdfunding campaign. VoxCheck aims to prepare an online anthology of falsehood and manipulation, based on the project’s

regular monitoring and fact-checking. The platform will be available to users by January 2019. During its crowdfunding campaign, VoxCheck collected 582.,??000 hryvnya (or $22,400) from 355

donors with a target 500 000 ($19,200). The IFCN matching program support amounted to $15,000, bringing the crowdfunding total to $37,400. With this support, VoxCheck will be able to cover

political rhetoric until the end of 2019 and launch the anthology.

The Colombian independent journalism outlet and fact-checker La Silla Vacía attracted more than 1,000 small donors for the first time in its history. In its sixth annual crowdfunding

campaign Oct. 11-Nov. 19, La Silla raised $145.052.000 Colombian pesos (about $45,400) from 1,146 donors. The organization views SúperAmigos (its small donors) as partners and members of our

community. They are responsible for making possible several projects possible. This year, with their support and the additional $15,000 from IFCN’s crowdfunding match, the newsroom will

increase its social media presence with new content specifically developed to reach the audiences on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The goal is to be closer to the misinformation that

circulates on social media so as to have a greater focus in fact-checking them. With regional elections next year, the objective is to rapidly detect false claims of candidates.

2019 will be crucial in Spain. We will have European elections, as well as local and regional elections — maybe even a general election. Disinformation already proved \an excellent tool to

somehow shift and influence a large number of voters. With the IFCN’s help, we will bring a new person for one year to MALDITA.ES to join our political disinformation team. With this new

help, we will improve our vigilance over disinformation, investigate and publish more cases and strengthen our reach, defending the right of every person to truthful information.

For any questions about how the Crowdfunding Match Program works and whether your project could qualify, email [email protected].