Investigative journalists, social media strategists, developers and others who have been fighting mis/disinformation across the Americas have a new opportunity to learn techniques and strategies from world-renowned experts – as well as to secure support for cross-border, collaborative reporting projects that probe the sources of dangerous mis/disinformation campaigns. 

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is offering a master class series, followed by an in-person investigathon, reporting grants and mentorship to journalists based in Latin America, the U.S. and Canada, as part of the larger Disarming Disinformation program.

The master classes will be held in partnership with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and feature sessions led by renowned journalists Patricia Campos Mello from Folha de S. Paulo in Brazil; Giannina Segnini from Columbia University; and Craig Silverman from ProPublica; as well as researcher Claire Wardle from Brown University. They will hold 1.5 hour sessions on topics such as political and health disinformation, strategies for “following the money,” and tools to spot disinformation networks. The series will take place November 17 and 18 at 9:30-12:30pm EST. All master classes will be available in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Apply here by Nov. 15.

ICFJ Knight Fellow Laura Zommer, co-founder of Factchequeado (U.S) and general director of Chequeado (Argentina), will be coordinating the events and shaping the discussions and activities.

“This program is a dream come true for those of us in the fact-checking and disinformation research fields,” Zommer said. “It gives us the chance, for three years, to focus on investigating who pays for the disinformation that is profoundly affecting our society. Each activity has been designed to foster  teams of new and experienced journalists from all over the region  who, by collaborating, will expose the money behind the lies.”

Reporters who participate in the master class series will have the opportunity to pitch collaborative, cross-border projects designed to ferret out the shadow figures behind disinformation campaigns. Those who submit the top 15 proposals will be invited to participate in a face-to-face “investigathon” in the United States in April 2023, where they could be chosen to receive funding and additional mentorship to complete their projects.

The master class series and investigathon are among the many events planned under the cross-border track of the Disarming Disinformation program, a three-year initiative funded by Scripps Howard Foundation.

“The threat to democracy is a reality in most countries in the Americas, and it has been fueled by disinformation,” said Cristina Tardáguila, the ICFJ senior program director leading the Disarming Disinformation program. “We want to give more journalists the tools to uncover the connections among disinformers and reveal where their funding is coming from.”

One of the master class professors, Costa Rican journalist Giannina Segnini, director of the Master of Science Data Journalism Program at the Journalism School at Columbia University, says the program tackles urgent issues.

A growing army of digital mercenaries undermines the pillars of democracy with lies, moving the feelings of the masses like remote-controlled puppets, at the service of the highest bidder and in the shadow of anonymity,” Segnini said. “This initiative assertively points the way for investigative journalists to discover the last and most important link: the names of those who pay for poisoning our society.”

Apply for the master class by Nov. 15.