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A team of AFP journalists specialised in fact-checking will be offering tailored training in digital investigation to Ukrainian journalists from Ukrinform, Ukraine's largest news agency, as well as their colleagues from Kyiv Post, Ukraine's primary English-language newspaper. 

The programme will take place over several months as part of a project supported by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF) and managed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. 

“Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the explosion of disinformation on social networks has complicated the task of journalists seeking to report the conflict in a reliable and impartial manner,” said Estelle Péard, AFP Training Coordinator for Digital Investigation in Europe. 

“The training we offer will enable Kyiv Post and Ukrinform journalists to be better equipped to spot and verify false information circulating online,” she added. 

As the world’s leading fact-checking network with 140 journalists working across five continents, AFP is a member of the 8 hubs of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO). AFP is also a member of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) and has been involved in the development of the code of standards and best practices for the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN). Additionally, AFP is part of Meta’s project to identify and report false and misleading information circulating on its platforms.

Ukrinform will participate in the project for the second time, following initial training led by AFP in partnership with the Austrian agency APA between September 2022 and February 2023.

The Kyiv Post will join the training for the first time as it plans to initiate its own fact-checking production this year.

Ukrinform, Ukraine’s national news agency, was founded in 1918. With over 300 employees, the agency holds the largest network of regional and foreign press offices among Ukrainian media outlets and produces content in 7 languages.

The Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s oldest English-language newspaper. Since its foundation in October 1995, its global audience has been growing steadily, peaking at more than 65 million pageviews in 2014.

The European Media and Information Fund (EMIF) supports collaborative efforts aimed at debunking disinformation, enhancing independent fact-checking, and enabling targeted research and innovation tools designed to strengthen resilience among media outlets, and their response to disinformation. The EMIF was established by the European University Institute and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.