With Global Fact 9 receding in the rear view mirror, Zebra Fact Check attempted another outreach to the International Fact-Checking Network’s program director, Ferdi Özsoy.
Dear Ferdi Özsoy,
I’ve delayed this third attempt until after the end of the Global Fact to-do, based on the hypothesis that activities related to that event hamper your ability to respond to email.
You’ll be aware that I have reached out to one of your co-workers in the attempt to obtain explanations for various mysteries of the IFCN’s accountability process. I’ve been assured that you carry true concern about the quality of the process and that I can likely expect a reasonable response to an inquiry.
I’m placing strict limits on my curiosity for purposes of this outreach to help make responding as painless as possible.
I applaud the IFCN’s move to document complaint submissions at URLs such as this one. This example, from May 12, 2020, was marked as “Approved” (approval dated Aug. 5, 20202) and also carries the mark of “Unresolved.” What are the criteria for an “Approved” complaint as opposed to one that never receives approval? Further, does a failure to resolve an approved complaint carry any impact on a signatory’s application?
The IFCN’s most recent report on its accountability effort bemoaned the fact that few complaint submissions bothered to specify what part of the code of principles signatories had failed to uphold. I would suggest that updating complaint submissions with the IFCN’s assessment of the complaints would likely lead to better quality complaints. The complaint documentation form I linked seems to allow for IFCN staff to add comments explaining the actions taken (or not taken).
Yes, adding those comments will take time, but transparency will simply never result if nobody at the IFCN takes the time to communicate it.
I’d love to see Poynter and the IFCN boost trust in their work by championing consistent in-house adherence to the best corrections policies, in line with this fine article published at Poynter.org in 2021: “Can better corrections improve news readers’ trust?”
Thanks for reading. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
I am especially eager for an on-the-record response, allowing me to help the IFCN improve the transparency of its process.