CEJ-IBA introduces fact-checking platform ahead of general election

ISLAMABAD: In anticipation of the upcoming general election on February 8, a non-partisan fact-checking tool, named iVerify, was unveiled at a ceremony held in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Centre of Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) developed iVerify, which is internationally accredited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has been “successfully implemented” in several countries, according to its press release.

The launch was accompanied by a panel discussion featuring senior media professionals, including Mansoor Ali Khan, Zahrah Mazhar, Farhad Jarral, Absa Komal, Umer Cheema, and Nizam Salarzai. They discussed the utility of a fact-checking tool in a high-stakes journalism environment, emphasizing its crucial role in curbing the spread of misinformed news stories during the elections.

iVerify offers a robust verification approach for journalists, focusing on eliminating bias, authenticating facts, and manually examining news articles. The platform enables journalists to submit their stories via iVerify’s portal, subjecting them to a multi-pronged evaluation, including data-driven and language-based assessments, to verify accuracy in factual representation and contextualization.

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The mission statement of iVerify, as outlined in the press release, aims to empower voters with verified and reliable information, fostering a transparent electoral process and a well-informed electorate. In the face of rising misinformation and disinformation, iVerify is dedicated to upholding the principles of accuracy, transparency, and integrity in elections.

CEJ-IBA Director Amber Shamsi, speaking at the launch, emphasized that iVerify is a crucial step in ensuring transparent and verifiable news reporting and investigation methodologies. “With the rise of misinformation in both digital and conventional media spaces, the fact-checking mechanism established by iVerify is poised to become a cornerstone of reliable, non-partisan journalism in Pakistan,” she said, according to the press release.

The World Economic Forum earlier said the significance of combating misinformation and disinformation driven by artificial intelligence, identifying them as the biggest short-term risks ahead of elections in major economies this year and the next, according to their Global Risks Report 2024.

The panel discussion will be telecast on Hum TV’s programme “HUM DEKHEN GEY With Mansoor Ali Khan” at 10 pm on Thursday (tomorrow).