THE UST Department of Journalism has renewed its partnership with Tsek.ph, the pioneering elections-based fact-checking project in the Philippines relaunched on Feb. 7, in time for the 2025 midterm elections.
UST will join 23 media, academic, and civil society partners in “combating disinformation with verified information” about the elections. This marks the University’s second time joining the initiative after the 2022 presidential elections.
Tsek.ph was launched during the 2019 midterm elections.
It verifies and fact-checks candidates’ platforms and campaign promises; election-related statements made by candidates, personalities, government agencies, and other entities; and election-related posts on social media and other platforms.
The partnership expands the University’s collaborations for the upcoming elections, which already include those with ABS-CBN and GMA Network for its “Dapat sa Totoo” and “Panata Kontra Fake News” campaigns.
Other partners from the academe are from the University of the Philippines (UP): UP Manila Department of Journalism’s FactRakers; UP Manila’s Department of Political Science; UP Baguio’s Department of Communication; UP Cebu’s College of Communication, Art and Design; and UP Visayas’s Division of Humanities.
Media partners supporting the initiative include ABS-CBN, Agence France-Presse, DZUP, FYT, Interaksyon, MindaNews, PhilStar Global, Philippine Press Institute, Probe, and VERA Files.
Also joining are PressOne.PH, which is edited by Varsitarian assistant publications adviser and UST Department of Journalism Chair Felipe Salvosa II, and Facts First, a podcast hosted by a former Varsitarian editor in chief, Asst. Prof. Christian Esguerra.
Civil society groups Akademiya at Bayan Kontra Disimpormasyon at Dayaan, Fact Check Philippines, IDEALS, Kontra Daya, Philippine Association for Media and Information Literacy, and Pinas Forward have joined the initiative.
The 2025 project is supported by International Media Support, Meedan, the Embassy of Canada, the UP Journalism Department, and the UPCMC Foundation.
Tsek.ph classifies content into five ratings: accurate, false, misleading, no basis, and needs context.
It is guided by the Code of Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network, upholding fairness and transparency of sources, funding, and methodology, and remaining open to corrections.
International Fact-Checking Network Director Angie Drobnic Holan delivered the keynote address during the launch on Friday.
Holan underscored the critical timing to relaunching the initiative as political polarization poses challenges to evidence-based public discourse.
“Fact-checking is not just about correcting false claims. It’s about strengthening the information environment that makes democracy possible,” Holan said.
“When we agree that facts matter, that truth exists, and that public leaders should be held accountable for their words, we build the foundation for meaningful elections and government.”
More than just a fact-checking initiative, the Tsek.ph fact-checking initiative reflects society’s commitment to upholding the truth.
“No single organization can effectively combat the flood of false information alone…You showed that when respected institutions join forces, they create a powerful counterweight to disinformation,” she said.
The midterm elections on May 12 will decide contests over 18,000 elected posts — 12 senators and 17,942 governors, provincial board members, mayors, and councilors.
Over 68.6 million Filipino voters have registered for the 2025 national, local, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections, according to the Commission on Elections.
