Cross-Border Fact-Check Assistance

The scenario

Once upon a time fact-checking teams regularly encountered stories that involved people or events from neighbouring countries, forcing them to research information in a language other than their own, which included research on which websites or forums were relevant to their investigation.

Every day they had to slowly work through a lot of content using translation tools, or with the help of local contacts who often could not respond quickly enough, leading to a loss of precious time during which fake news or unverified information kept being spread in the population. The inefficiency was demotivating for them and their foreign colleagues, making it harder to prioritize cross-border stories.

One day… (what will you do to address the problems and challenges being faced?)

Because of that… (what changes will your solution bring?)

Until finally… fact-checkers became able to investigate cross-border stories almost as fast as they would for local issues. Over time, the speedy debunking of cross-border fake news led to a decrease in negative opinions and stereotypes about other countries circulating among the public and politicians became more wary of sharing unverified news as their audience had become more distrustful.

Keywords

fact-checking cross-border cooperation misinformation translation tools regional collaboration civic tech investigative journalism disinformation alerts multilingual verification EECA

Scenario starter kit

Recommendations for your design process

Map common sources of cross-border misinformation in EECA countries.
Identify existing language barriers and available translation/localization tools.
Consider secure, real-time communication channels for fact-checking teams.
Build solutions that integrate with existing verification workflows rather than replacing them.
Ensure scalability across multiple countries and adaptability to changing disinfo tactics.

Solution users and audience

Fact-checking organizations in EECA countries
Independent journalists
CSO teams monitoring disinformation
Regional civic tech networks
Policy watchdog groups

Advice

Prioritize ease of use — fact-checkers need quick, intuitive tools under time pressure.
Include multilingual interface or API-based translation integration.
Build trust with partners — data privacy and security are key.

Glossary

Fact-checking: The process of verifying factual accuracy of public information.
Cross-border misinformation: False or misleading information that involves multiple countries and circulates across national boundaries.
Verification workflows: The steps fact-checkers follow to confirm or debunk a claim.