Natália Leal Accepts ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award

By: ICFJ | 11/10/2021

Receiving this award is one of the greatest moments in my career as a journalist. I want to thank the International Center for Journalists for considering my work to be fundamental in these unusual times. 

Being a fact-checker is not easy. Every day, someone questions our methods, our ethics and our impartiality. We see abuses against the press from governments and a far-right movement. They claim to defend freedom of speech and individual rights, but they are mostly advocating against our fundamental rights and threatening one of the most valuable assets in humankind: democracy.

In Brazil, journalists and fact-checkers suffer online harassment every day -- from the government, and from the president and his supporters. I want to tell my fellow Brazilian fact-checkers that this honor is a recognition of the hard work they've done.

I have never thought about winning an award like this. My journalism skills were always aimed at supporting teams and giving my colleagues all they needed to do their best work. I see this  award as a recognition for all the work journalists do behind the scenes. It is also a recognition of the work done by my great team at Lupa in Brazil. It is an honor to fight with you against the spread of misinformation.

There are too many people to thank by name, but I need to single out my Mum, my women friends and other female leaders who encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Every woman journalist in a newsroom knows how hard it is to fight against machismo and misogyny. I am who I am because they have been there before me.

People ask me why fact check when it can be so hard and unpleasant? My answer is simple: We need to fight against misinformation. This honor increases our commitment, my personal commitment. Fact-checkers will not give up, no matter what.
 

News Category
Country/Region

Latest News

Media Pioneer Patricia Mercado Sánchez Wins 2026 ICFJ News Innovation Award

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) today announced Patricia Mercado Sánchez, founder and CEO of Conexión Migrante, as the recipient of its 2026 ICFJ News Innovation Award. Mercado Sánchez leads a small team of journalists that has grown Conexión Migrante into a trusted, multi-platform lifeline for Latin American migrants in the U.S.

The European Journalism Centre Joins Plus Alliance as Constituent Member

The European Journalism Centre (EJC) is joining Code for Africa, ICFJ and PROTO as a constituent member of our expanding joint initiative, now known as the Plus alliance (formerly ICFJ+).

African Journalists Receive ICFJ-Wikimedia ‘Open the Knowledge’ Awards

Three journalists from Africa are being honored through the Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards, a story contest presented by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), in partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia.