About us

AFP is one of the world's three major news agencies, and the only European one. Its mission is to provide rapid, comprehensive, impartial and verified coverage of the news and issues that shape our daily lives.  

 

With 2,600 employees of 100 different nationalities, AFP provides information in six languages - French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic - and in all media (text, photo, video, graphics and audio). 

Its clients are the world's media, digital platforms, companies and institutions. Its main source of funding subscriptions from its clients, and it also receives public funding as compensation for carrying out its mission of general interest.

 

AFP benefits from four major assets:

 

  • The size of global network. ​Present in 150 countries, AFP offers its clients comprehensive news coverage on a vast range of subjects, and often from locations that are rarely, if ever, covered by other media. This presence in the field allows us to diversify our sources, well beyond institutional ones. A recognized hallmark of AFP journalism is also the attention it pays to human interest stories.

 

  • High-quality multimedia production. AFP, already renowned for its text and photo production, is now also recognised internationally for the quality of its video production, which is attested to by its constant gains in market share and the many awards it receives. Images, which are increasingly the key element of news coverage, now account for half of the agency's turnover, and live video broadcasts (around 40 a day) are among the most popular products. 

 

  • Guaranteed independence. AFP is governed by a statute that guarantees its total independence. Subject to commercial law, it has the particularity of not having any shareholders so as to protect it from any external influences. Its decision-making body is an 18-member board of directors, made up of representatives of its media clients, public administrations, qualified personalities, and employee representatives. The Agency's board of governors, its oversight body, can be consulted on any issue that may be seen as affecting the Agency's independence. 

 

  • A leadership role in the fight against disinformation. AFP has the world's leading fact-checking network, with 150 journalists working on five continents in 26 languages. These journalists, who specialize in fact-checking and digital verification, expose disinformation and establish the truth. In this particular case, AFP publishes directly to the general public via its AFP Fact Check site. The Agency also offers journalists from all over the world free access to training in digital journalism. 

 

Founded in August 1944 and heir to the world’s first news agency Havas that was established in 1835, AFP today aims to become the indispensable agency of choice for the world's media, not only for the quality of its coverage but also for the service it provides to its clients and the attention it pays to meeting their expectations.

 

Request a free trial