€2.29 million will be allocated in grants to 12 fact-checking projects selected to establish a system of verifying information published in the public domain and media, the Electronic Media Agency announced on Tuesday.

The public call for this purpose was launched on 30 December 2022. The project is being implemented under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan by the Ministry of Culture and Media and the Electronic Media Agency. Nearly €6 million was allocated for the measure to establish a fact-checking system.

Fifty applications were received, of which 26 were refused for not meeting formal and administrative criteria, while 12 failed to score the necessary number of points to qualify. The remaining 12 applicants qualified and were selected for funding.

The selected applicants will be required to cooperate on the collaborative platform, to be established by the Electronic Media Agency, and comply with the basic standards and principles observed by leading international organisations combating disinformation.