Nicole Stremlau

Fact-checking saw a rapid expansion in the mid 2010s when major social media platforms, especially Meta, started funding these activities. Today, however, fact checkers stand at a critical juncture. The early 2020s brought them three interrelated yet distinct crises: financial, technological, and legitimacy crises.

This article examines how fact checkers in the EU perceive and respond to tensions between their journalistic commitment to political fact-checking and platform partnership rules that restrict the rating of politicians’ claims. Drawing on interviews and survey responses, we find that they understand their work through a journalistic role conception, including a commitment to scrutinizing political elites.