Inside AFP

The fact-checking articles will be accessible to the public via the agency's multilingual blog AFP Factuel, dedicated to the verification of false information spread online. They will follow the agency’s strict editorial guidelines, with content being selected independently by AFP.

"We are very proud of this new expansion in Latin America of AFP's unparalleled fact-checking network. We are keen to develop the agency's fact-checking expertise in the region and to leverage our strong network of Spanish-speaking journalists for the benefit of Latin American internet users," said Pierre Ausseill, Agence France-Presse’s Regional Director for Latin America.

"AFP sees fact-checking as an integral part of the mission stipulated in its founding statute, which is to provide accurate, balanced and impartial coverage of news."

The new teams will work with AFP journalists already present in the region, and will review text, photos and videos circulating in these countries.

AFP has teams dedicated to the verification of news and information in more than 30 different counties, 10 of which are located in Latin America, where fact-checking services are already operating in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay.

The agency participates in various fact-checking initiatives worldwide, including:

• Collaborative journalism projects organised for presidential elections: CrossCheck (France, 2017), Comprova (Brasil, 2018), CrossCheck (Nigeria, 2018), Reverso (Argentina, 2019) and Verificado (Uruguay, 2019). 
• Recognition by the International Fact-Checking Network, which has included AFP among the 69 media outlets that are signatories to its code of principles.
• Participation, alongside around 10 other international media outlets, in a BBC initiative against the spread of disinformation. 
• Involvement in the "Journalism Trust Initiative" by Reporters Without Borders.
• Collaboration with Africa Check, an NGO globally recognised for its news verification work in Africa