Tsek.ph, the country’s pioneering fact-checking collaboration, will be relaunched on Jan. 24, 2022 in time for the May 9 elections.
The launch will be attended by 22 academic, media, and civil society institutions and initiatives that have agreed to collaborate to provide the public with accurate and up-to-date information about the elections by debunking false and misleading narratives from public figures, news media, and social media. It will be livestreamed on the Facebook pages of Tsek.ph and DZUP.
The University of the Philippines launched Tsek.ph in 2019 as a public service commitment to combat misinformation. The project was led by the Department of Journalism of the College of Mass Communication and funded by the university’s Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs.
Tsek.ph brought together three academic institutions and 11 media partners in 2019. This year, Tsek.ph’s membership in academia and the media has grown, and it now includes fact-checkers from civil society and multi-sectoral organizations.
The academic partners of Tsek.ph are the Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Trinity University of Asia Communication Department, University of the Philippines – Los Baños, UP Department of Journalism’s Fact Check Patrol and FactRakers, and the University of Santo Tomas.
Meanwhile, Tsekph’s media partners are ABS-CBN, DZUP, FYT, Interaksyon, MindaNews, PhilStar Global, Philippine Press Institute, Press One, Probe, Rappler, and VERA Files.
Finally, its civil society partners are Akademiya at Bayan Kontra Disimpormasyon at Dayaan (ABKD), BarangayHub, and Fact Check Philippines.
The keynote address at the launch Mr. Baybars Orsek, Director of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the Poynter Institute in the United States. Through advocacy, training, and global events, the IFCN promotes fact-checking excellence to over 100 organizations worldwide.
Fact-checking is an important part of journalism’s commitment to providing the public with the accurate information they need to be informed citizens. It also serves as a watchdog, holding those in power accountable for spreading false or misleading information. As the 2022 elections approach, fact-checkers have joined forces to assist voters in selecting the best candidates. Tsek.ph brings these efforts together in an online hub.
The UP System, Google News Initiative, the UP Journalism Department, and the UPCMC Foundation all support Tsek.ph.
More information on Tsek.ph can be found by browsing its website, emailing its official secretariat or following it on Twitter and Facebook.
