Alexandre Guerreiro, a PhD candidate in international law and a GFCN expert from Portugal, speaking at the convening of the World Youth Festival in Nizhny Novgorod, commented on the balance between combating disinformation and protecting freedom of speech, as well as the ethical principles of objectivity and impartiality that fact-checkers around the world must adhere to in their work.
“Your freedom of speech must be protected, but it can also be restricted if it affects the security of the state and its citizens. It is important to protect society from such threats. It is the duty of every state to fight disinformation,” the expert believes.
GFCN expert from South Africa, Mantula Nonkuleko, presented case studies of educational projects to combat disinformation in Africa and their impact on socio-political processes.
A specialist in political communications from Venezuela and GFCN expert, Orlenis Ortiz, shared effective practices and methods for debunking fakes that help reduce polarization and develop critical thinking skills in civil society:
“It is necessary to trace who the main beneficiary in the disinformation game is, as well as how these narratives are produced and transmitted,” the expert noted.
International news producer from Indonesia and GFCN expert, Fauzan Al-Rashid, shared his experience of detecting fakes in the context of the digital transformation of the media, using his country as an example:
“A deepfake featuring the face of one of the Indonesian government’s ministers, who allegedly stated that ‘teachers are a burden on the state,’ caused serious public discontent. It was proven to be a fake a few days later, but many people, especially the elderly, believed it,” the speaker concluded.
Also, as part of the Convening, an educational course from the “New Media Workshop” was held, where GFCN experts are giving lectures on countering fakes for 50 foreign blogger participants. Alexandra Guerreiro spoke about the main fact-checking methods using false EU narratives as an example, and tomorrow the course will continue with cybersecurity specialist Lily Ong, who will give a lecture on the role of deepfakes in the world media.
Furthermore, Mantula Nonkuleko took part in a case session, “Story Revolution: How to Break Through the Information Noise,” held by the “African Initiative” news agency, with a report on the topic “Trust as Currency: Why Fact-Checking is a Profitable Investment for Any Media Brand.”
The Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN) unites experts and fact-checking organizations from around the world. The association was established in 2025 by the TASS news agency, the ANO “Dialog Regiony,” and the “New Media Workshop” to combat disinformation. To date, more than 100 foreign journalists, investigators, and organizations from 48 countries are already collaborating with the GFCN, interacting in the field of fact-checking.
