Misinformation spreads, but fact-checking has leveled off
10th annual fact-checking census from the Reporters' Lab tracks an ongoing slowdown
By Joel Luther – June 21, 2023
Articles by Author
Mark Stencel
Mark Stencel teaches journalism at Duke, where he also is co-director of the university's Reporters' Lab. He also is executive director of JournalList and founder of Assignment: Future LLC. He previously held senior positions at The Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly and NPR, and was a reporter for The News & Observer in North Carolina.
Vast gaps in fact-checking across the U.S. allow politicians to elude scrutiny
A Reporters' Lab review of local fact-checking finds only a small percentage of politicians and other public officials are held accountable for the accuracy of the claims they make.
By Joel Luther – March 29, 2023
Fact deserts leave states vulnerable to election lies
Politicians in 29 states get little scrutiny for what they say, while local fact-checkers in other places struggle to keep pace with campaign misinformation.
By Belen Bricchi – November 16, 2022
Fact-checkers extend their global reach with 391 outlets, but growth has slowed
Efforts to intercept misinformation are expanding in more than 100 countries, but the pace of new fact-checking projects continues to slow.
By Mark Stencel & Erica Ryan – June 17, 2022
Fact-checking census shows slower growth
The number of new projects dipped, even as fact-checking reached more countries than ever
By Mark Stencel & Joel Luther – June 2, 2021
Fact-checking count tops 300 for the first time
The Reporters' Lab finds fact-checkers at work in 84 countries -- but growth in the U.S. has slowed
By Mark Stencel & Joel Luther – October 13, 2020
Annual census finds nearly 300 fact-checking projects around the world
Growth is fueled by politics, protests and pandemic
By Mark Stencel & Joel Luther – June 22, 2020
Update: 237 fact-checkers in nearly 80 countries … and counting
So far the Reporters' Lab list is up 26% over last's year annual tally.
By Mark Stencel & Joel Luther – April 3, 2020
U.S. fact-checkers gear up for 2020 campaign
Of the 226 fact-checking projects in the latest Reporters’ Lab global count, 50 are in the U.S. -- and most are locally focused.
By Mark Stencel & Joel Luther – November 25, 2019
Reporters’ Lab fact-checking tally tops 200
With AFP's expansion and new election-focused projects, our ongoing global survey now includes 210 active fact-checkers.
By Mark Stencel & Joel Luther – October 21, 2019