Date: June 11, 2025 | Time: 6:00 PM IST | Platform: Online
Host: Aayushi Rana, OSINT Research Analyst, DFRAC
On June 11, 2025, DFRAC hosted a high-impact webinar titled “Censorship vs Verification: Challenges of Fact-Checking in China, Russia, and Turkey,” drawing over 300 live participants. The discussion brought together renowned experts: Prashant Tandon (Senior Journalist, Co-Founder & Advisor, DFRAC, India), Angie Holan (Director, International Fact-Checking Network, Poynter, USA), and Prof. Masato Kajimoto (University of Hong Kong and Founder of Annie Labs, Hong Kong).
The panel explored how authoritarian regimes restructure media landscapes through strict censorship, surveillance, legal control, and algorithmic manipulation to suppress dissent and distort facts. Prashant Tandon highlighted the legal and institutional threats faced by journalists and fact-checkers. Angie Holan stressed the importance of independent verification and global standards, while Prof. Kajimoto shared insights into China’s state-coordinated misinformation apparatus and the challenges of fact-checking within closed ecosystems.
The webinar emphasized the resilience of fact-checkers and the urgent need for cross-border collaboration, media literacy, and technological preparedness to counter disinformation in tightly controlled regimes.
Link to the webinar: Facebook.com/DFRAC
