A new white paper from the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN - @eurofactcheck.bsky.social), titled "The Great Retreat: How Platforms Deprioritised Information Integrity and What to Do About It", highlights a concerning shift.

If you are an independent fact-checking organisation or working in the space of information integrity, this opportunity may be for you!
#EFCSN #FactChecking #Disinformation #EuropeanResilience #JournalismGrants #InformationIntegrity #EUDigitalStrategy

EFCSN Tech Accountability Call: Investigating Digital Platforms and AI Risks – European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) The EFCSN is launching a Tech Accountability Call to support investigations into digital platforms and AI models. With a total budget of 114,000€, this call offers grants of up to 25,000€ for projects focused on platform compliance and misinformation. Applications are due by May 1, 2026 (EOD).

▪️Tech Accountability Call: This call supports research and investigations into how digital services amplify disinformation and the systemic risks posed by emerging AI technologies, focusing on platform algorithms and data access.
☞How to apply: eurofactcheck-efcsn....
📅 Apply by 1 May 2026 EOD

EFCSN receives €5 million grant to support Europe’s independent fact-checkers – European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) The European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) has received a €5 million grant to support independent fact-checking organisations across Europe. This support comes at a time when Europe’s information spaces are at risk: Foreign information manipulation and interference is a daily reality, large digital platforms have retreated from the fight against disinformation, and the rapid evolution of AI is making it harder for citizens to distinguish fact from fiction. The EFCSN and its members are committed to countering these threats and working towards a healthy information space for all Europeans, recognising that robust, independent fact-checking is essential to democratic resilience.

📅 Application Deadline: 8 May 2026 | 23:59 CET
🛡️ These grants are part of the "Fact-Checkers for European Resilience Against Disinformation (FACTEUR) project:

EFCSN Expansion Grants: Strengthening Resilience and Fact-Checking Capacity in Underserved Regions – European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) The EFCSN is announcing a call for Expansion Grants to strengthen the resilience and reach of fact-checking across Europe. With a total budget of €134,000, these grants provide up to €67,000 per project to support capacity building in underserved regions, professionalize emerging teams, and expand coverage in languages currently underrepresented. This call is open to both single applicants and consortia, fostering knowledge exchange and long-term sustainability for Europe's information integrity.

▪️Expansion Grants: Designed to help organizations grow their reach and scale operations, this call specifically fosters cross-border collaboration. Unlike the calls above, consortia of organizations are eligible to apply.
🎦Q&A Webinar: 21 April, 11:00 CET
☞How to apply:

⚠️ Eligibility Note: Organizations may apply to ONLY ONE of the two calls above (Content or Innovation). These two specific calls are intended for single applicants only.

EFCSN Innovation Grants Call: Scaling Technical Tools and Disinformation Interventions – European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) The EFCSN Innovation Grants call is a funding opportunity designed to bolster the European fact-checking community. With a total budget of €240,000, the initiative offers grants of up to €30,000 (50% co-funded) to support projects focused on technical innovation, AI literacy, prebunking strategies, and new media formats. Applications are open to legal entities in the EU and DEP-associated countries that are EFCSN-certified or committed to the European Code of Standards, with a submission deadline of May 8, 2026.

▪️Innovation Grants: This funding is dedicated to the development of new tools, technologies, and methodologies necessary to stay ahead of evolving disinformation tactics.
🎦 Q&A Webinar: 23 April, 11:00 CET
☞How to apply:

EFCSN Content Grants : Supporting Fact-Checking Production and Disinformation Investigations – European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) The EFCSN is launching a new call for Content Grants to empower European fact-checkers in their fight against disinformation. With a total budget of €390,000, these grants provide up to €30,000 per project to support high-impact editorial production, deep-dive investigations into inauthentic behavior, and innovative outreach activities. This initiative prioritizes underserved regions and collaborative efforts across the media ecosystem to ensure all European citizens have access to trustworthy information.

▪️Content Grants: Tese grants support the production of high-quality fact-checking across various EU languages and regions to ensure comprehensive information coverage.
🎦 Q&A Webinar: 22 April, 11:00 CET
☞ How to apply:

🚀4 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄!
Independent fact-checking is the cornerstone of a resilient democracy. Today, the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) is proud to announce four new grant opportunities to empower fact-checkers across the continent:

Oversight Board Flags Human Rights Risks in Meta's Global Community Notes Rollout Meta’s Oversight Board warns global rollout of Community Notes risks harm in conflict zones, repressive regimes, and election-sensitive countries.

In @techpolicypress.bsky.social , @ramshajahangir.bsky.social also wrote a deep dive on the community notes expansion in repressive human rights regimes,conflict & election-sensitive countries could create tangible harms that #Meta must address: www.techpolicy.press/oversight-bo...

Oversight Board tells Meta expanding Community Notes outside of US poses 'significant' risks In a 15,000-word policy advisory opinion, the Oversight Boatd urged Meta to be cautious with an international rollout of Community Notes.

"Community Notes and fact checking are not mutually exclusive,"Oversight Board member Paolo Carozza tells Engadget."One doesn't have to replace or substitute for the other, they can coexist. "
Thanks to @karissabe.bsky.social @engadget.com for this insightful piece:

www.engadget.com/social-media...

The Oversight Board is clear: #communitynotes are not enough against hashtag#disinformation. The European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) warns hashtag#Meta: 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀.

The impact of this professional expertise is clear: Meta reports that 𝟵𝟱% 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 choose not to click through once an independent fact-checker applies a warning label. These interventions even encourage users to voluntarily delete false content.

#Factchecking is an 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵.

Professional fact-checking adds verified context to public debate, 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 to reach their own 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

The @eurofactcheck.bsky.social supports this call, maintaining that crowdsourced experiments should 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 professional expertise 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 substitute it.

The Oversight Board is clear that #Meta must ensure 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹, 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 to accurately evaluate claims across different languages.

🔹Linguistic and cultural variations in interpreting terms like "𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹" can skew the consensus algorithm and compromise the accuracy of published notes.

The Linguistic Risks:
🔹Meta’s current infrastructure is limited to only 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀, and it has not yet extended its technical infrastructure to support others.
🔹A lack of linguistic representation risks 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 and privileging dominant narratives.

The @oversightboard.bsky.social has issued a clear directive in their recent policy advisory opinion: “𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲”

Misinformation doesn't speak just one language, and a "𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲-𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀-𝗮𝗹𝗹" rollout cannot account for global linguistic diversity.

We urge #Meta to heed the Oversight Board’s warning. Platform safety requires a hybrid approach that integrates the specialized expertise of local, independent fact-checkers to ensure linguistic parity and factual accuracy across every market.

Community notes alone does not qualify as a risk mitigation measure benchmarking the Third Party Fact-Checking Program under the hashtag#DSA in the eyes of the @eurofactcheck.bsky.social.

🔹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟲% 𝗚𝗮𝗽: Meta’s own data shows that only about 6% of community notes ever reach the public.
🔹 The Board noted that comparable crowdsourced notes take 𝟲𝟱.𝟳 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 to surface, long after misinformation reaches peak visibility.

The @oversightboard.bsky.social expressed "𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁𝘀" about community notes’ mode efficacy, citing significant delays and a limited number of published notes:

EFCSN welcomes Meta’s Oversight Board opinion on community notes: not enough against harmful misinformation – European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN)

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 : efcsn.com/news/2026-03...

#Meta’s @oversightboard.bsky.social has just published an opinion outlining the potential #humanright impacts of Meta’s plan to expand #communitynotes outside the United States.The verdict is clear: 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Community Notes Alone Won't Beat Disinformation: Why Fact-Checkers Are Essential Community Notes were designed to "democratize" moderation, but research shows they are largely ineffective in their current form, writes Stephan Mündges.

The EFCSN proposes a hybrid Model: Combining the scale of the crowd with the accuracy of experts is a practical path forward:

Current data shows a significant gap: while a US community-based system produced 900 visible notes in six months, professional fact-checkers in the EU labeled over 35 million posts in a similar timeframe.

In a new guest contribution for Tech Policy Press, European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) Coordinator Stephan Mündges explains why professional #factchecking and #communitynotes should work together to protect information integrity in the EU.

A key focus: Community Notes. Currently, they are failing to mitigate risks.

They can be a force for good—but only if they complement professional #FactChecking rather than serving as a substitute for it. #CommunityNotes #VLOPs