Objectively Engaged: The Discursive Constitution of Latin American Fact-Checking Mission Statements and Methods

This research paper examines 48 Latin American fact-checking websites through qualitative textual analysis, focusing on their mission statements and epistemologies. All organizations describe their role as combating disinformation, but independent units take a more active approach: empowering and educating citizens, monitoring power, enhancing public debate, and improving journalism. These independent NGOs make a stronger impact in the region. Platforms tied to regional media conglomerates, despite incorporating the fact-checking genre, are less transparent about their methods, with some exceptions. Fact-checkers’ democratic engagement, associated with data-driven empirical methods, relies on a pragmatic understanding of objectivity that values contextualization and interpretation.