AFP organised training for future fact-checkers in Sofia and Bucharest

This month BROD fact-checking partner AFP held its second fact-checking training planned in the project. Like the first one earlier this year, the training took place in a hybrid format, with an opening webinar, an online closing session, and twice two-day in person sessions for participants in Sofia and Bucharest.
In total 16 journalists were trained by Marion Dautry, Paula Cabescu and Rossen Bossev from AFP Digital investigation department. They have not only learned the techniques used by AFP journalists to analyze disinformation, but also how to take editorial decisions and what is the place of fact-checking in a newsroom’s daily work.
During the exercises proposed by the trainers, the participants have experienced that the same investigation’s process can release different results from a person and their technical setup to another. “This encourages teamwork, mutual aid and the exchange of information”, explains Marion, who is a fact-checker covering parts of the Balkan region for AFP.
During the in-person sessions, Rossen and Paula have respectively shared their experiences, and good practices on narratives circulating in Bulgarian and Romanian.
The participants did receive a certificate of completion and were invited to complete a post-training survey. Most of them did appreciate the multiple exercises and practical advises.
“The last part of the training about the how to survive doing fact-checking and control our emotions was new and very useful as well”, wrote one participant.
Recent studies show how much journalists, especially fact-checkers, are targets of online attacks: according to a IFCN survey in April 2024 about 72 percent of fact-checking organizations faced harassment, while many also reported physical and legal threats.
How to deal with attacks and the flow of traumatic images is sometimes a neglected aspect in the profession. “It is essential to have spaces for discussion about this aspect of the fact-checking work and I am happy that we emphasize this in the training carried out by AFP”, said Marion.