Consistent in its efforts to counter disinformation through verified information, an expanded Tsek.ph, the country’s pioneering fact-checking collaboration, will be relaunched on Jan. 24 in time for the May 9 elections.
The launch will be attended by its partners consisting of 22 academic, media and civil society institutions and initiatives that have agreed to collaborate to provide the public with truthful and factual information regarding the elections by debunking false and misleading narratives from public figures, news media and social media. It will be livestreamed on Tsek.ph and DZUP’s Facebook pages.
Tsek.ph was initiated by the University of the Philippines in 2019 as a public service commitment to combat disinformation. It is a project under the university’s Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs and spearheaded by the Department of Journalism under the College of Mass Communication.
In 2019, Tsek.ph united three academic institutions and 11 media partners. This year, Tsek.ph expanded its membership in academe and media and now includes fact-checkers from civil society and multisectoral organizations.
The academic partners are 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. The media partners are ABS-CBN, DZUP, FYT, Interaksyon, MindaNews, PhilStar Global, Philippine Press Institute, Press One, Probe, and VERA Files. The civil society partners are Akademiya at Bayan Kontra Disimpormasyon at Dayaan (ABKD), BarangayHub, and Fact Check Philippines.
Mr. Baybars Orsek, Director of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the US-based Poynter Institute, will deliver the keynote speech at the launch. The IFCN promotes the excellence of fact checking to more than 100 organizations worldwide through advocacy, training and global events.
Fact-checking is part of journalism’s commitment to provide the public with accurate information they need to become informed citizens. It also plays a watchdog role by holding those in power accountable for spreading false or misleading claims. As the May elections draw near, fact-checkers have pooled their fact-checking efforts to help the electorate choose the right candidates. Tsek.ph unifies these laudable efforts in an online hub.
Tsek.ph is supported by the UP System, Google News Initiative, UP Journalism Department and the UPCMC Foundation.
For more information on Tsek.ph, visit the website, email secretariat@tsek.ph, or like and follow it on Facebook and Twitter.