Fact-checking as apolicy focus in the EU

Fact-checking is a popular journalistic format that is widely used across the European Union ‎to react to disinformation and other false narratives spreading both in social networks and traditional‎ media. To foster its uptake, the European Commission has included the support of fact-checking‎ organizations, as well as a request for the integration of their services in online platform content‎ moderation, in a number of its policy documents. The watchdog activities of fact-checkers thereby‎ become part of the EU’s policy focus, allowing these organizations to shape policies – albeit not without ‎certain impediments, given that many fact-checkers rely on funding from technology companies and‎ the European institutions. The aim of this paper is to better understand the European fact-checking ‎landscape and to identify in what ways these organizations interact with EU policymakers, the ways EU ‎institutions and the fact-checking community may influence each other, as well as the power dynamics ‎between fact-checkers and online platforms.‎