Fact-checkers reached more people in 2025. That didn’t help their finances.
A survey of accredited fact-checking organizations worldwide found layoffs rose, coverage narrowed and reliance on single funders remained high
When VERA Files lost funding last year, the Manila-based newsroom had no choice but to overhaul its staffing plans.
Five reporters left by the end of the year, and nobody replaced them. A fact-checker took over the tip line and newsletters, the tech team volunteered to transcribe three-hour International Criminal Court hearings on a former Philippine president, and editors went out to report. Ellen Tordesillas, who co-founded the nonprofit 18 years ago, was back in the field herself, reporting stories because there was no one else to send.
Related Knowledge Center: Fact-checking and its detractors
Fact-checking has become a familiar tool for political reporters to hold office-holders and candidates accountable. But critics ask if fact-checkers sometimes miss the forest for the trees, and if the practice often struggles with false equivalency the way conventional political coverage does.
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.