StopFake

StopFake is a fact-checking organization, founded in March 2014 by Ukrainian professors and students, to refute Russian propaganda and combat fake news.[1][2][3]

StopFake
FormationMarch 2, 2014 (2014-03-02)
TypeFact-checking
HeadquartersKyiv, Ukraine
Websitewww.stopfake.org/en

Work

StopFake has streamlined the process of fact-checking stories with software tools.[4] The organization has worked on combating the spread of disinformation by Russia,[1][5] focusing on information disseminated on social media.[6] It hosts StopFake News, a weekly television show only about fake news, and holds the standard that "[i]f fact checkers cannot prove that a story published or broadcast by another news media outlet is false, it will not be featured in the weekly airing".[3] Following the allegations of Russian influence in the 2016 United States presidential election, StopFake began to gain international recognition.[2] The site is financed by crowdfunding, readers' contributions, the Renaissance Foundation, the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic, the Foreign Ministry of the United Kingdom and the Sigrid Rausing Trust.[7]

Recognition and awards

In a joint effort, the Financial Times, Google, Res Publica and Visegrád Group recognized StopFake and its founder in their 2016 New Europe 100 list, commending "central and eastern Europe’s brightest and best people—plus the organisations who are changing the region’s societies, politics or business environments and displaying innovation, entrepreneurialism and fresh approaches to prevailing problems".[8] StopFake won the "Best Project in Russian Award" in Deutsche Welle's 2014 BOBs awards.[9]

Mashable described the organization as a "Snopes for Ukraine".[10] The New York Times states that StopFake "is highly respected in journalistic circles here in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, for its specialty of debunking fake news", and it "reported some of the biggest nonstories of the war" in Ukraine.[3] Politico stated that "the journalism school crew behind StopFake have emerged as the 'grand wizards' of the fake-news-busting world".[2]

Controversy

In 2020, Ekaterina Sergatskova, a Ukrainian journalist, published an article on Zaborona detailing links between leaders of far-right and neo-Nazi groups and the directors of StopFake.org. Following this, she was targeted for harassment and threats, and personal information of her and her son were posted online.[11] Sergatskova was forced to flee Kyiv citing fears for her life.[12] StopFake denied having any far-right ties or bias, calling the Zaborona article part of a campaign of slanderous “information attacks.”[13]

References
  1. Hern, Alex (19 June 2017). "Facebook and Twitter are being used to manipulate public opinion – report". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2019. The report on the country’s efforts to tackle Russian misinformation highlights the StopFake project, a collaborative effort to tackle fake stories “produced mainly by the Russian media”
  2. Maheshwari, Vijai (12 March 2017). "Ukraine's fight against fake news goes global". Politico. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. Kramer, Andrew E. (26 February 2017). "To Battle Fake News, Ukrainian Show Features Nothing but Lies". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  4. Priest, Dana; Birnbaum, Michael (25 June 2017). "Europe has been working to expose Russian meddling for years". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  5. Palma, Bethania (27 June 2017). "Russia's Neighbor Ukraine Besieged by 'Fake News' and Hacking Years Before United States". Snopes. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  6. "Crecen los sitios web dedicados sólo a chequear informaciones". Clarín (in Spanish). 25 July 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2019. Each fact-checking undertaking has its specificity. In Ukraine, StopFake.org focuses on social networks, which function as one of the main sources of information for citizens, and evaluates the veracity of the images disseminated, currently closely related to the war in the country.
  7. "About us". StopFake. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  8. Foy, Henry (15 November 2016). "New Europe 100 — changemakers in central and eastern Europe". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  9. "Best of Online Activism". Deutsche Welle. 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  10. Ries, Brian (5 March 2014). "StopFake.org Is Like a 'Snopes' for Ukraine". Mashable. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  11. "Ukraine Urged To Protect Journalist Threatened Over Her Reporting".
  12. "Ukrainian journalist forced to flee following threats from far-right".
  13. "The StopFake Supervisory Board Position About the Escalating Information Attacks Directed Against the Project Team". StopFake. 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
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