Report: Fact-checker group received $2.4 million from U.S. government amid controversy over fact-checking
The U.S. government has supported the Poynter Institute with millions of dollars, raising questions about the influence of taxpayer dollars on fact-checking and moderating online speeches.
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is among the organizations that have received funding from U.S. taxpayers over the past 12 years — the majority of it during the Biden administration, including in the six months leading up to the former president’s election.
According to the Media Research Center (MRC), which reviewed funding data on the USASpending.gov website, Poynter received most of the funding from the Small Business Administration ($1.67 million), followed by the U.S. Agency for Global Media and the State Department with $423,781 and $367,435, respectively. In total, the government’s obligations to Poynter from 2013 to date amount to at least $2.4 million.
The problem with this “agreement” lies not only in the questionable use of public funds, but also in the role of the Poynter Institute itself. Since 2015, it has operated the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which certifies more than 170 fact-checking organizations worldwide and supports them through training, resources, and event organization.
During the previous administration’s tenure, conservatives and other users who made “unpopular” comments online accused these third-party groups of bias that led to censorship. One example of this was Meta’s now-defunct fact-checking program, which relied on IFCN-certified groups – including Poynter’s own PolitiFact. Content that was considered questionable by these groups reportedly received 95% fewer clicks on Facebook and Instagram and was shared 38-47% less often.
In other words, this system has been an effective tool for suppressing certain opinions and expressions – and it seems that the government has found another way to financially support such measures. This is precisely what makes the situation particularly politically explosive.
Poynter has already been involved in various controversies. For example, the then deputy director Cristina Tardaguila sat on the advisory board of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). In addition, the institute tried to create a blacklist of about 30 conservative news agencies in 2019.
In 2023, the IFCN also caused a stir when it tried to convince YouTube that the platform was not censoring enough content and suggested ways to “correct” it. At the same time, it demanded financial resources from YouTube to be able to “work together” more effectively.
As far as the financing of the IFCN is concerned, between 2016 and 2019 alone, 492,000 dollars flowed from none other than George Soros.
Translated and edited by Alex Kada