Bangladesh’s fact-checkers are facing two major challenges: shrinking funding and weak coordination with mainstream newsrooms. The issues were discussed at the closing roundtable of FactFest 2026, held on September 27-28.
Organised by Digitally Right and Fojo Media Institute, the two-day conference brought together around 100 fact-checkers, journalists, researchers, academics and students for more than 13 sessions.
Funding under strain
Speakers said fact-checkers must protect their credibility and avoid perceptions of bias, making conventional advertising and media partnerships difficult to pursue.
Shuvashish Das Ray Dip, assistant editor of FactWatch, said the number of fact-checking organisations has fallen globally since the sector's expansion in 2016, while Bangladesh has moved in the opposite direction. To sustain that growth, he said, organisations need to diversify their income through research, media and information-literacy training, and other services.
Md Sakiuzzaman, co-founder of Rumor Scanner, said the pressure is already showing. "We are having to let go fact-checkers who have been with us for several years due to budgetary constraints," he said.
Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Digitally Right, called for a mix of funding sources, including private-sector support, media-literacy training, research and other services.
Uneven relationship with newsrooms
Another key concern was the limited cooperation between fact-checkers and mainstream media.
Azad Baig, digital growth editor of The Daily Star, said some outlets are adding fact-checkers to their teams and reviewing reports before publication.
Adnan Aziz of Media Resources Development Initiative (MRDI) urged fact-checkers to act as “friends of the media” by pointing out errors without creating a hostile environment.
Sakiuzzaman said collaboration remains limited despite Rumor Scanner’s efforts to work with around 25 online outlets, describing the challenge as “multi-layered.”
Saleh Fuad of Dhaka Stream said media organisations are becoming more aware of fact-checking, but said fact-checkers should also be open to scrutiny of their own work
Concerns over CSA amendments
Participants at the closing roundtable also raised concerns over proposed amendments to the Cyber Security Act 2026.
The amendments would criminalise defamation, “humiliation” and “bullying,” with penalties including imprisonment and fines.
Participants warned that the provisions could be used against fact-checkers, particularly if the law does not distinguish between deliberately spreading harmful disinformation and reporting on it in the public interest.
Beyond debunking
Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury said FactFest was organised to strengthen Bangladesh’s fact-checking community and provide a platform to discuss existing and emerging challenges.
Opening the event, Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Nicolas Linus Ragnas Weeks highlighted the importance of information integrity during periods of political and social change. He stressed the role of journalists, civil society and fact-checkers in ensuring access to credible information and called for stronger networks within the information ecosystem.
A key theme throughout the two-day conference was that debunking individual false claims is no longer enough. In a session on changing political dynamics, fact-checkers discussed coordinated tactics such as manipulated content, fake accounts, AI-generated material, doxxing and targeted harassment.
Speakers said researchers need to examine the broader narratives and strategies connecting individual claims.
A session on gendered disinformation highlighted how women in public and political life are targeted through sexualised narratives, misogynistic stereotypes and manipulated images. Speakers warned that the growing use of AI-generated visuals could further affect women’s participation in public life.
On technology, speakers said tools such as reverse-image searches and AI-detection systems are increasingly accessible to the public. Fact-checkers therefore need to expand their investigative work, including through OSINT and on-the-ground verification.
In the session “Engineering Reality: Information Warfare and the Fragility of Trust in Democratic Transitions,” Dr Gregory John Simons of Daffodil International University discussed how information can be used not only to inform audiences but also to influence them.
Making truth travel
The keynote, “Making Truth Travel,” was delivered by Fojo Media Institute Director Paul Rapacioli.
He said fact-checking is not only about establishing the truth but also making sure verified information reaches audiences in ways that earn their attention and trust.
Citing a misleading claim that Sweden had banned Christmas lights, Rapacioli said fact-checkers need to understand why false narratives appeal to audiences and find more effective ways to present evidence.
“Truth has to be established. Truth has to travel. And truth has to be trusted when it arrives,” he said.
Workshops and closing
Participants also took part in practical workshops on building a career in fact-checking, detecting AI-generated and deepfake content, and investigating disinformation using data. Audience questions and discussion ran through the programme, and the closing roundtable covered potential collaboration between journalists and fact-checkers as well as the differing working principles of fact-checking organisations.
FactFest 2026 ended with a shared call for collaboration and continued learning. As misinformation grows more sophisticated and moves across platforms, communities and borders, organisers and participants said fact-checkers, journalists, researchers and other stakeholders will need to work together, share methods and develop new approaches to protecting the integrity of public information.
