The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), established in 2015 by the American Poynter Institute for Media Studies, is a global initiative dedicated to supporting and developing the community of fact-checkers worldwide in their fight against disinformation. Recognising the credibility of the IFCN, Russian propagandists sought to exploit this trust by creating the Russian Global Fact-Checking Network in April 2025.
The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), established in 2015 by the American Poynter Institute for Media Studies, is a global initiative dedicated to supporting and growing the fact-checking community worldwide in its efforts to combat disinformation. To this end, the IFCN’s code of principles mandates impartiality, transparent sourcing, and funding disclosure. In Poland, demagog.org.pl, pravda.org.pl, and FakeNews.pl all boast IFCN certification.
Further information about the IFCN can be found at poynter.org/ifcn.
Russian propagandists have now sought to exploit the credibility of the International Fact-Checking Network by creating the Russian Global Fact Checking Network in April 2025. According to Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this platform “brings together experts engaged in exposing false information” and “is essentially an international portal that fosters an honest and open approach to fact-checking” (https://tass.ru/obschestvo/23637979).
She also claimed that “more than 30 foreign journalists and investigators from 30 countries: Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Spain, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, and others” are participating in this initiative. One of them is (listed first) Australian academic Tim Anderson, known for his left-leaning views.
For instance, in his article “Lenin, Ireland and Palestine”, Anderson wrote:
„On the hundredth anniversary of the passing of Lenin, we should remember the passing of one of history’s few figures to not only overthrow an old order but to transform egalitarian ideals into a new society. It would be a mistake, if not a sin, to ignore the many practical lessons of his life. However, it would be an even greater sin to read Lenin’s largely historical analysis as dogma or a blueprint from which to chart the future. He was a writer of his times” (https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/opinion/lenin–ireland-and-palestine).
In another artcile, ”The Russian SMO (1): was it an Imperial intervention?,” Anderson argued:
„That will remain a matter for historians. However the charge that the Russian intervention was an imperial operation fails because: (1) it did not aim to impose foreign rule, being rather a pre-emptive response to NATO expansion, plus a response to calls for protection from the mostly Russian people of SE Ukraine, suffering siege and aggression from the Kiev regime” (https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/the-russian-smo–1—was-it-an-imperial-intervention)
However, perhaps the most astonishing and deceitful is Anderson’s opinion regarding the Russian atrocities in Bucha. In his article, Anderson references the UN vote to exclude Russia from the Human Rights Council:
„That third motion was based on the massacre of civilians in Bucha, which the US-led bloc blamed on Russia, but which was most likely a false flag operation. Many of the civilians killed, after a Russian withdrawal from an area near Kiev, were wearing white armbands, a sign of surrender to or sympathy with the Russians. Evidence strongly suggests they were killed by Ukrainian ultra-nationalists, notorious for their reprisals against “traitors”, for their “collaboration” with Russia (Reif 2022; Tuteja 2022)” (https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/the-russian-smo–2—why-was-it-a-global-turning-point).
By: ih
The town of Bucha, located outside Kyiv, has become the most prominent symbol of Russian atrocities in Ukraine. Occupied by the Russian army and later reclaimed by Ukrainian forces in the spring of 2022, it was the site of mass graves containing over 200 civilians, as well as bodies left lying in the streets. Russia has claimed that the bodies only appeared after Ukrainian soldiers entered the liberated areas.
However, The New York Times, citing satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies, refuted these claims. The images show that bodies had been lying in the streets from at least 11 March, while the first image of the trench containing the mass grave dates back to 10 March, when the town was still under Russian occupation. This was also confirmed by CNN in its reporting:
Exclusive: New drone video shows Russian military vehicles and forces on Bucha street strewn with civilian bodies
ih
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