Sustainability and visibility: rethinking fact-checking beyond platform funding

Meta’s suspension of its Third Party Fact-Checking Program (3PFC) in the United States has generated major turbulence in the global fact-checking field, creating uncertainty and forcing organizations to reconsider their strategies both in the US and internationally. This chapter presents a multi-sited qualitative study that addresses two central questions: 1. How are fact-checking initiatives reshaping their business models to ensure sustainability in the absence of stable platform funding? 2. What do these economic strategies imply for fact-checkers’ visibility, production routines, public perceptions of their credibility and effectiveness against disinformation? The research draws on two sets of data: (1) semi-structured interviews with representatives of twelve fact-checking projects across different regions, and (2) ethnographic fieldwork carried out during the 2025 Global Fact-Checking Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Findings indicate that, in response to Meta’s withdrawal, many organizations are integrating traditional fact-checking with a business-to-business (B2B) model. This involves providing professional digital services—such as training, audits, and consulting—to a wide variety of public and private stakeholders. By contrast, strategies to compensate for the loss of audience reach caused by the possible end of 3PFC, while strengthening fact-checker's public perception, appear less consolidated. Overall, this development suggests a gradual move from journalism toward hybrid forms of knowledge work at the intersection of journalism, advocacy, and consultancy. While this diversification opens new avenues for editorial innovation, it also raises questions about the capacity of fact-checkers to engage broad publics and the resulting effectiveness of their efforts against disinformation.