From Disinformation to Empowerment: How Fact-Checking Organisations Integrate Media Literacy initiatives in Belgium and Brazil
Presenter:
Thais Motta, Master's in Digital Communication Leadership (DCLead) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Date: December 2nd, 2025
Time: 12PM EST | 6PM UCT
Location: Register HERE for ZOOM.
Disinformation is still considered a threat to democracy due to its ability to influence public opinion and erode trust in institutions, such as traditional media. As the European Commission (2018) highlights, online misinformation can manipulate public perception and influence election results, posing a direct challenge to democracy. Academic researchers are expanding in this field, covering themes such as the definition of disinformation, its dissemination, the relationship between disinformation and technology, and the consequences of spreading false or misleading information.
The study draws on disinformation studies (Van Raemdonck & Meyer, 2022; Freelon & Wells,
2020) and media literacy studies (Hobbs, 2010; Potter, 2013; Van Audenhove et al., 2018). Wardle and Derakhshan's (2017) concept of information disorder is essential to the academic debate on the topic. This study reflects on the concepts and dynamics of disinformation, delving into how it spreads and its consequences. The researcher acknowledges media literacy and fact-checking as a solution to disinformation and uses the competencies of the digital and media literacy model developed by Hobbs (2010) to analyse how fact-checking organisations justify and implement media literacy initiatives in their projects.
This research addresses the question of how fact-checking organisations can go beyond debunking practices and add educational projects to their practices. It employs a qualitative methodology: desk research and semi-structured expert interviews with seven professionals from fact-checking organisations in Belgium and Brazil. These two countries have distinct media literacy public policies and practices: Belgium integrates media literacy into public broadcasters’ contracts, whereas Brazil relies on civil society and government-led initiatives.
The data set consists of interview transcripts analysed thematically, supported by secondary sources from organisational reports and information from their official website. Grounded in media literacy frameworks (Hobbs, 2010; Buckingham, 2019), this approach enables a comparative understanding of motivations, tools, and challenges shaping fact-checkers’ educational engagement.
Preliminary findings show a shift from simply debunking false or misleading content to promoting space for debate, collaboration, and developing education tools and practices. Organisations developed tools such as chatbots, classroom collaborations, and community-driven WhatsApp channels to promote critical thinking and media literacy. However, these projects face challenges such as funding limitations, dependence on platforms, and threats to their autonomy due to new content moderation policies. These results suggest that fact-checkers have a key role in the fight against disinformation: they connect journalism practices and media literacy to empower their audiences and preserve democracy.
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