"The Responsibility to Fight Misinformation Also Lies with the Government"

Angie Holan, Director of the International Fact-Checking Network
Visiting the US Fact-Check Platform 'PolitiFact' (Part 2)

"The responsibility to fight misinformation and disinformation also lies with the government."

Angie Holan, Director of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), said this on the 25th of last month (local time) at the PolitiFact Washington D.C. bureau during a meeting with Korean journalists. She stated, "Delivering the most accurate information to citizens and readers is a very important task." While combating misinformation and disinformation is fundamentally the role of fact-checkers, the government should also contribute to creating such an environment.

Angie Holan, IFCN Director

As the Korean government and ruling party have declared a "war on fake news," there is a diagnosis that fact-check journalism is paradoxically facing a crisis. Meanwhile, overseas fact-checkers are expressing both concern and support regarding the current situation.

Earlier, Naver announced plans to end the 'Fact Check' menu on its news homepage, which had been posted since January 29, 2018, on Tuesday, September 26. Naver's 'Fact Check' is the only systematic fact-check content in Korea, accumulated over the past six years by the SNU Fact Check Center of the Seoul National University Institute of Media and Communication and affiliated journalists from partner media outlets. Thirty-two affiliated media companies have produced over 4,700 fact-check articles to provide to citizens.

Naver maintains that this decision is unrelated to the policy stance of the government and ruling party, but the media industry and academia are paying attention to the connection. On September 25, fact-checkers from the SNU Fact Check Center’s partner companies issued a statement titled "Position on Naver's 'Fact Check' Termination," expressing that they "cannot suppress their anger and lament." They questioned, "The more 'fake news' becomes controversial, the more essential the role of fact-checking is. Why was the decision made to stop the 'Fact Check' section?"

With the 22nd National Assembly election approaching next year, the need to respond to false information is growing. Holan said, "The internet is still important and a new technology, but it is also paradoxical," adding, "There is too much false and low-quality information circulating." She emphasized, "For precisely this reason, the importance of fact-checking is increasing even more."

※ This article was written with the support of the Fact-Check Diploma Program jointly conducted by the Korea Press Foundation, SNU Fact Check Center, and Pointer Research Institute.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.