Philippine fact-checking coalition relaunched for 2025 midterm elections 

February 7, 2025 | 6:39pm

MANILA, Philippines — Tsek.ph, the Philippines' pioneering fact-checking coalition, relaunched Friday, February 7, to counter disinformation in the upcoming midterm elections.

This year, the coalition of media organizations, universities and civil society groups has expanded to 24 partners — up from its 22-member network during the 2022 national elections. 

Launched in 2019 with 14 members, Tsek.ph brings together fact-checkers across different organizations to combat election-related disinformation through verified information.  

"The timing of this launch could not be more critical. As we gather today, we as fact-checkers face many challenges to evidence-based public conversations. Political polarization is a growing problem in many places," said Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network at the United States-based Poynter Institute, in her keynote address.

Holan said social media platforms are retreating from their fact-checking commitments, while fact-checkers themselves face increasing harassment for doing their jobs. 

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"When platforms step back from their responsibilities, fact-checkers must step forward," Holan said.

Tsek.ph's media partners are Philstar Global, ABS-CBN, Agence France-Presse, dzUP, Facts First with Christian Esguerra, FYT, Interaksyon, MindaNews, Philippine Press Institute, Press One, Probe, and Vera Files. 

The coalition's academic partners comprise the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Department of Journalism’s FactRakers, UP Department of Political Science, UP Baguio’s Department of Communication, UP Cebu College of Communication, Art and Design, UP Visayas’ Division of Humanities, and the University of Santo Tomas.  

Tsek.ph's civil society partners are Akademiya at Bayan Kontra Disimpormasyon at Dayaan, Fact Check Philippines, IDEALS, Kontra Daya, Philippine Association for Media and Information Literacy, and Pinas Forward.  

This year, Tsek.ph is supported by International Media Support (IMS), Meedan, Embassy of Canada, UP Journalism Department and the UPCMC Foundation.  

Che de los Reyes, country program manager of IMS, an international media development organization, emphasized the need to support fact-checking efforts during elections as these are when "a lot of money flows into politically motivated disinformation campaigns."

"We need to promote relevant and correct information about the candidates and the electoral process so that voters can make an informed choice about the leaders that they will elect," De los Reyes said. "This is why we are proud to support the TsekPH 2025 initiative as well as its member media organizations."

Holan also noted the coalition's work in countering disinformation in previous elections and praised its collaborative model. 

"You showed that when respected institutions join forces, they create a powerful counterweight to disinformation," she said.