The Rise of the Brazilian Fact-checking Movement: Between Economic Sustainability and Editorial Independence

Author(s)

Lelo, Thales

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNALISM STUDIES; v. 23, n. 9, p. 19-pg., 2022-04-30.

Abstract

This study addresses the expansion of Brazilian fact-checking enterprises, focusing on their funding sources and challenges to ensure editorial autonomy. The research is mainly grounded in semi-structured interviews with 16 fact-checkers from 13 active organizations, and includes complementary data collected from the initiatives' websites. The findings show that the organizational milieu in which fact-checking firms flourish influences their revenue streams. Fact-checkers face different economic and editorial challenges depending on their organizational environment. Nevertheless, their chief business strategy to gain economic viability mainly translates into a solid presence on digital platforms. It involves reaching niche markets on social media and attracting users to their websites. Last, the limited staff of most fact-checking initiatives and their growing dependence on big tech money have led them to modularize their corrections to different platforms and publish debunking at the expense of political fact-checking. In short, this study contributes to the growing scholarship on fact-checking by evidencing that this professional reform movement is dealing with power dynamics familiar to the journalism they want to reform. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/01330-0 - Communication and work in the Brazilian fact-checking landscape: a mapping of projects and professionals working in the sector
• Grantee: Thales Vilela Lelo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral