Zebra Fact Check reached out to International Fact-Checking Network director Angie Drobnic Holan (cc Poynter president Neil Brown) to point out a set of discrepancies on its newly redesigned page showing signatories active and otherwise.
Dear Angie Drobnic Holan,
(cc Neil Brown)
Congratulations on the improved appearance of the IFCN’s signatories page. It looks much better, though it’s marginally more difficult to scroll to the location of one particular listing.
Perhaps you’ve already noticed the problem and are already working on fixing it, but it is apparent that the “Active” signatories list includes a number that should be listed as “In Renewal” if the lists interpret those states as defined on the respective pages.
To wit: “Code for Africa,” for example, is listed on the “Active” page with a verification date of 1/19/2023. As the profile shows no evaluation more recent than that date, “Code for Africa” should appear on the “In Renewal” page instead.
But it does not appear there. That’s assuming that the orgs listed on the “In Renewal” page are expected to match the description at the top: “Verified signatories are reminded a month prior to their expiration date with a notice to start their renewal process and the IFCN offers them a three months period to complete their renewal process. The renewal process is subject to a new assessment and approval by IFCN’s advisory board in reference to IFCN’s Code of Principles.”
The “In Renewal” page appears to resemble what the IFCN called “Extended Renewal” where signatories were kept on the “In Renewal” list beyond the three month grace period. That policy was blamed on the pandemic. Presumably the pandemic has eased to the point where “Extended Renewal” no longer applies. If it still applies, then perhaps the IFCN should continue to describe its existence and categorize organizations accordingly.
Until this issue is fixed, the IFCN is publishing inaccurate totals for the listed categories.
