StopFake


StopFake is a fact-checking organization, founded in March 2014 by Ukrainian professors and students, to refute Russian propaganda and combat fake news.

Work

StopFake has streamlined the process of fact-checking stories with software tools. The organization has worked on combating the spread of disinformation by Russia, focusing on information disseminated on social media. It hosts StopFake News, a weekly television show only about fake news, and holds the standard that "f fact checkers cannot prove that a story published or broadcast by another news media outlet is false, it will not be featured in the weekly airing". Following the allegations of Russian influence in the 2016 United States presidential election, StopFake began to gain international recognition. The site is financed by crowdfunding, readers' contributions, the Renaissance Foundation, the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic, the Foreign Ministry of the United Kingdom and the Sigrid Rausing Trust.

Recognition and awards

In a joint effort, the Financial Times, Google, Res Publica and Visegrád Group recognized StopFake and its founder in their 2016 New Europe 100 list, commending "central and eastern Europe’s brightest and best people—plus the organisations who are changing the region’s societies, politics or business environments and displaying innovation, entrepreneurialism and fresh approaches to prevailing problems". StopFake won the "Best Project in Russian Award" in Deutsche Welle's 2014 BOBs awards.
Mashable described the organization as a "Snopes for Ukraine". The New York Times states that StopFake "is highly respected in journalistic circles here in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, for its specialty of debunking fake news", and it "reported some of the biggest nonstories of the war" in Ukraine. Politico stated that "the journalism school crew behind StopFake have emerged as the 'grand wizards' of the fake-news-busting world".

Controversy

In 2020, Ekaterina Sergatskova, an Ukrainian journalist, published an article detailing friendships between the leaders of far-right or neo-Nazi groups and the directors of StopFake.org. In retaliation, she was targeted in a coordinated campaign of fear, with her personal details and those of her son, were posted online. Sergatskova was forced to flee Kiev. "Far Right" is a term used to refer to Ukraine's state-sponsored neo Nazi militias.