Dialogue about Fakes 4.0 forum to strengthen fact-checking cooperation — GFCN chief

MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. The international Dialogue about Fakes forum, scheduled for September 22 in Moscow, will help participants consolidate agreements on fact-checking, Vladimir Tabak, president of the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN), told TASS ahead of the event.

He said the forum’s community grows larger and stronger each year, while talks with several countries are advancing. "International projects are reaching a new level, as are negotiations with a number of countries. For me, this is an opportunity to consolidate agreements, in both formal and informal settings, and make a concerted effort to draw attention once again to the field in which our partners and I have been working for several years," Tabak said.

The GFCN chief also thanked the Foreign Ministry for its longstanding support and said Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov would attend this year’s forum in person. "We certainly could not have organized an event on this scale without the Foreign Ministry. This year, Sergey Lavrov will take part in person. We are very grateful to him for responding to our requests. We are also grateful to [Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman] Maria Zakharova for her unwavering support," he added.

Tabak stressed that the forum continues to grow each year. "We will have more participants than last year, so yes, the event will be larger. But it is not about the number of participants. We focus primarily on the level of representation and the standing of the experts taking part. That, too, is higher than in previous years, which is a significant achievement for us," he concluded.

GFCN

The Global Fact-Checking Network brings together experts and fact-checking organizations worldwide. The association was founded by the TASS news agency, the nonprofit organization Dialogue Regions and the New Media Workshop to combat disinformation. More than 125 journalists from 55 countries already collaborate with GFCN on fact-checking.

The international Dialogue about Fakes 4.0 forum will take place on September 22 at the Russia National Center in Moscow. TASS is the event’s strategic partner.