What The Fact?
Sorting facts from fiction on key global development, human rights and justice issues
Photo: ‘Discovery’ © Gauthier Delecroix via Flickr used under CC BY 2.0
In a world of extreme inequalities, the spread of hate speech, populism and fake news, the need to check claims, facts and data sources on the global stage is more important than ever.
Aligning with the principles of the International Fact Checking Network, we check claims by influencers, from local to national to transnational that relate to human rights and international human development. Transparent fact checking is a powerful instrument of accountability, and we need your help.
- Send tips and ideas to facts@developmenteducation.ie
- Join the conversation #whatDEfact on Twitter @DevEdIreland and Facebook @DevEdIreland

Health misinformation: How we can push back on conspiracies and unverified advice during a crisis
Dora-Olivia Vicol explores the findings from recent research about health misinformation and Covid-19 by fact-checkers Africa Check, Full Fact and Chequeado

Is the Black Lives Matter movement coordinating and supporting violent protests across the United States?
Are those involved in Black Lives Matter hijacking peaceful protests and turning them into vicious, brutal riots, as claimed by conservative leaders (and their supporters) in the US? ‘What The Fact?’ investigates.

Were Irish people the ‘first slaves in America’?
The claim that many images and meme’s circulating online make that Irish people were the “first slaves of America” is false. The What The Fact? project investigates

Fact-checking Trump’s attacks on the World Health Organization
Did the World Health Organization severely mismanage and cover up the spread of the coronavirus, as suggested by US president Donald Trump? ‘What the Fact?’ investigates.

Does $1.90 a day keep global poverty away?
Is it really possible to end extreme poverty within a generation? ‘What The Fact?’ investigates the underlying assumptions of the international poverty line

Is the state owned ESB associated, directly or indirectly with reported human rights violations in the Cerrejón mine in Colombia?
The Cerrejon Mine is one of largest open-pit mines in the world and is located in the south-east of Colombia. Is Ireland’s state-owned utility company, ESB, linked to reported human rights violations and ‘blood coal’?
10 Myths About....Series

10 Myths About Global Waste
It is a startling reality that much of the material output generated by the world since the Industrial Revolution is still with us – despite

10 Myths About Global Hunger: sorting facts from fiction
This pocket-size booklet: was published to coincide with World Food Day 2018 on October 16 2018 and as part of a #ZeroHunger series in conjunction

What The Fact? Fighting hoaxes, fakes and myths on key human rights and human development issues
In a digital world packed with fake news and fact checkers, is there a need for another one?