What Verificado 2018 does

Verificado 2018 was a time-limited, non-profit collaborative journalism initiative that fact-checked political claims, fake news, manipulated images, and decontextualized videos circulating on social media during Mexico's 2018 presidential election. It operated from March to July 2018 and explicitly ceased operations on July 9, 2018 after the electoral mandate ended. The initiative was founded and led by AJ+ Español (Al Jazeera Media Network's Spanish-language digital channel, based in Mexico City since 2016), together with Animal Político (Mexican digital media) and Pop-Up Newsroom as co-conveners, and operated as a coalition of more than 80 allied media outlets and civil society organizations. Its primary users were Mexican voters and the general public, who could submit suspicious content via WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook, and consume verified fact-checks across those same channels plus a dedicated website at verificado.mx.

The platform combined a WordPress-based publishing hub (verificado.mx), a WhatsApp submission channel launched mid-campaign (April/May 2018), and an interactive candidate map tool for the federal and local ballots, with visual journalism production (videos, infographics, animations) led by AJ+ Español. Technology supporters included Facebook and Twitter as platform partners, plus Slack for distributed team coordination, Cloudflare for site infrastructure and DDoS protection, Check (checkmedia.org) for fact-checking workflow tooling, and Krzana for social media monitoring. The business model was purely grant-funded civic service: institutional grants came from Facebook Journalism Project, Google News Lab, Open Society Foundations, and Oxfam, with no pricing, subscription, or commercial revenue stream. Approximately 70 journalists and citizens were trained in verification techniques at launch in March 2018, and the team verified claims across the three Mexican presidential debates in real time during June 2018. No management team, ownership beyond the founding coalition, equity investors, patents, awards, regulatory actions, M&A, or leadership changes are recorded in the source data.

Name

Verificado 2018

Legal name

Verificado 2018

Website

https://verificado.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Verificado 2018 was a Mexican collaborative fact-checking initiative that debunked political misinformation during the 2018 presidential election, founded by AJ+ Español, Animal Político, and Pop-Up Newsroom, and operated from March to July 2018 before closing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic fact-checking and electoral misinformation verification

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA)

Keywords

• Fact-checking platform
• Misinformation verification
• Collaborative journalism
• Election fact-checking
• Fake news monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Collaborative initiative / public service: Verificado 2018 is a non-profit collaborative journalism initiative funded by institutional supporters including Facebook Journalism Project, Google News Lab, Oxfam, and Open Society Foundations. It does not charge users for its verification services. The initiative operated specifically during the 2018 Mexican election cycle (approximately March to July 2018) and has since concluded.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Verificado 2018 is a collaborative journalism initiative that provided real-time fact-checking of political statements, claims, images, and videos circulating on social media and digital platforms during Mexico's 2018 electoral cycle. It operated a publishing website, a WhatsApp-based citizen-reporting channel, and an interactive candidate/ballot map, coordinated across a coalition of 80+ media outlets and civil society organizations, and concluded on July 9, 2018.

Product overview

Verificado 2018 is a unified collaborative journalism platform focused exclusively on fact-checking during the 2018 Mexican electoral process. The core offering is real-time verification of claims made by candidates and political actors across social media and digital platforms. The platform operates through a network of over 80 partner media organizations and civil society groups, supported by Facebook and Google News Lab. Key product components include the main verification platform (verificado.mx), a WhatsApp submission channel for user-reported content, and an interactive candidate map tool. All offerings are provided free of charge as a public service initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Verificado 2018 fact-checking platform A collaborative, real-time fact-checking journalism platform serving Mexican citizens and voters during the 2018 electoral cycle, publishing verified content on social media and at verificado.mx and concluding on July 9, 2018.
• Verificado 2018 WhatsApp Channel A WhatsApp-based citizen reporting and fact-check distribution channel that allows users to submit suspicious content for verification and receive verified answers directly through WhatsApp.
• Interactive Candidate Map A standalone interactive map tool that lets users identify candidates appearing on federal and local ballots and view the number of positions being contested in their state.

Quantifiable outcome

• The initiative closed on July 9, 2018, after four months of operation during the 2018 Mexican electoral cycle.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and major.

• AJ+ EspañolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2018AJ+ Español (Al Jazeera's digital Spanish-language news channel, based in Mexico City since 2016) is the founding partner and operational lead of Verificado 2018. AJ+ Español initiated the project concept in early 2017 and convened the coalition. It leads visual journalism production including videos, infographics, and animations. The initiative was conceived by AJ+ Español as a response to the threat of fake news in the electoral context.
• Animal PolíticocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2018Animal Político is a founding co-convener of Verificado 2018, partnering with AJ+ Español and Pop-Up Newsroom to design, launch, and operate the initiative. It is one of the three primary organizers of the project.
• Pop-Up NewsroomcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2018Pop-Up Newsroom is a founding co-convener of Verificado 2018, partnering with AJ+ Español and Animal Político to design, develop, and operate the initiative. It contributed to the design, convening, and operational launch of the project.
• TwittersupportingTechnology or IntegrationTwitter is listed as a technology supporter among the 'Con el apoyo de' (With the support of) section of the initiative, providing platform support and integration for the distribution of fact-checks.
• SlacksupportingTechnology or IntegrationSlack is listed as a technology ally, used by the initiative as a collaboration and coordination tool across the distributed team of journalists and partner organizations.
• CloudflaresupportingTechnology or IntegrationCloudflare is listed as a technology ally, providing infrastructure and security services (likely CDN and DDoS protection) for the Verificado 2018 website during high-traffic election periods.
• Check (checkmedia.org)supportingTechnology or IntegrationCheck is listed as a technology ally, likely providing the fact-checking workflow platform used by the team to track, verify, and publish claims.
• KrzanasupportingTechnology or IntegrationKrzana is listed as a technology ally, potentially contributing social media monitoring or analytics tools to support the initiative's tracking of misinformation.
• Stardom LabssupportingTechnology or IntegrationStardom Labs is listed as a technology ally, contributing tools or services to support the digital operations of the initiative.
• 50+ Media and Civil Society AlliesmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe initiative listed over 80 media outlets and civil society organizations as allies, including Animal Político, Pop-Up Newsroom, AJ+ Español, Newsweek, Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción, Universidad Iberoamericana, El Universal, El Economista, Milenio, Huffington Post, Vice, Forbes México, Proceso, Radio UNAM, IMCO, and many regional outlets. These allies co-published and distributed fact-checks, amplifying reach across Mexico.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• AFP Fact Check: Global fact-checking operation run by Agence France-Presse, covering elections worldwide including Mexico and Latin America. Broad incumbent peer operating a multilingual, multi-country network analogous to Verificado 2018's regional focus.
• PolitiFact: Long-running Pulitzer Prize-winning US fact-checking project operated within a larger media organization (Poynter Institute). Broader incumbent peer with similar Truth-O-Meter methodology to Verificado 2018's verdict-based verification.

Direct peers

• Animal Político: One of the three founding conveners of Verificado 2018 and a major Mexican investigative digital news outlet. A direct peer in civic/political journalism and fact-checking in the Mexican market.
• Maldita.es: Spain-based collaborative fact-checking and misinformation-fighting nonprofit using a similar model of user-submitted tips via WhatsApp and social channels. Comparable in technology platform, audience engagement approach, and election-cycle focus.
• Full Fact: UK-based nonprofit fact-checking organization working with technology platforms (including Meta/WhatsApp integrations). Comparable to Verificado 2018 in collaborative nonprofit structure and platform-partner funding model.
• Chequeado: Argentina-based nonprofit fact-checking organization founded in 2010, widely regarded as the pioneer collaborative fact-checker in Latin America. Highly comparable to Verificado 2018 in mission (verify political claims during elections), nonprofit structure, and coalition-driven model.
• AJ+ Español: Al Jazeera's Spanish-language digital news brand and the founding partner/operational lead of Verificado 2018. Direct peer in visual, social-first Spanish-language journalism.
• Newtral: Spanish fact-checking and verification startup founded by journalist Ana Pastor, operating with similar methodology and platform mix (WhatsApp, social media) as Verificado 2018. Highly comparable in business model and use of multimedia.
• Agência Lupa: Brazil's first dedicated fact-checking agency, operating during Brazilian election cycles with a coalition-based, journalism-driven approach. Direct peer given shared Latin American election fact-checking focus.

Others

• Pop-Up Newsroom: One of the three founding conveners of Verificado 2018, focused on collaborative journalism and mobile reporting workflows. Adjacent to the work of Verificado 2018 as both co-founder and methodology contributor.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/verificadomx
• Facebookfacebook.com/Verificado2018

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Verificado 2018