City Research Online

Abstract

This chapter examines the institutional evolution of fact-checking from its emergence in the 2000s to early 2026, a period marked by Meta’s decision to terminate its Third-Party Fact-Checking Program in the United States. Originally a niche journalistic specialty focused on holding politicians to account, fact-checking quickly expanded into a global industry operating in 116 countries. Focusing on the trajectory of fact-checking in Latin America, we advance a four-stage framework to trace this trajectory: Political Fact-Checking (2008–2015), the Fake News Crisis (2016–2020), the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020–2023), and Automated Infrastructures (2023–2025). Each stage reflects how practices and institutional roles have adapted to shifting internet and corporate environments, social demands, and the infrastructural constraints of big tech companies. While these adaptations facilitated global growth, they also rendered the field vulnerable to corporate influence and shifted the ethical focus from supporting an informed citizenry toward content moderation and harm reduction. As the industry moves into an era of increasing AI-driven automation and faces significant financial uncertainty due to the withdrawal of platform funding, the chapter concludes that fact-checking must once again reconfigure its professional authority and governance structures.

Publication Type:	Book Section
Subjects:	F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F1201 Latin America (General) Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources
Departments:	School of Communication & Creativity School of Communication & Creativity > Department of Media, Culture & Creative Industries
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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