Natália Leal Accepts ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award

By: ICFJ | 11/10/2021

Receiving this award is one of the greatest moments in my career as a journalist. I want to thank the International Center for Journalists for considering my work to be fundamental in these unusual times. 

Being a fact-checker is not easy. Every day, someone questions our methods, our ethics and our impartiality. We see abuses against the press from governments and a far-right movement. They claim to defend freedom of speech and individual rights, but they are mostly advocating against our fundamental rights and threatening one of the most valuable assets in humankind: democracy.

In Brazil, journalists and fact-checkers suffer online harassment every day -- from the government, and from the president and his supporters. I want to tell my fellow Brazilian fact-checkers that this honor is a recognition of the hard work they've done.

I have never thought about winning an award like this. My journalism skills were always aimed at supporting teams and giving my colleagues all they needed to do their best work. I see this  award as a recognition for all the work journalists do behind the scenes. It is also a recognition of the work done by my great team at Lupa in Brazil. It is an honor to fight with you against the spread of misinformation.

There are too many people to thank by name, but I need to single out my Mum, my women friends and other female leaders who encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Every woman journalist in a newsroom knows how hard it is to fight against machismo and misogyny. I am who I am because they have been there before me.

People ask me why fact check when it can be so hard and unpleasant? My answer is simple: We need to fight against misinformation. This honor increases our commitment, my personal commitment. Fact-checkers will not give up, no matter what.
 

News Category
Country/Region

Latest News

ICFJ Voices: Stories From the Journalists in Our Network

A year has passed since we first asked our network to share their testimonies with us. We did it to mark our 40th anniversary, and were blown away by the responses. Hundreds of journalists across every region of the world wrote to tell us what being part of ICFJ’s network has meant to them.

Highlighting the Role of Independent Journalism for U.S. Students: Five Takeaways from Our Roundtable Event

International and U.S. journalists, university faculty and students, and foundation and media leaders came together recently in Washington, D.C., to address a critical gap in educating young Americans on the role of a free press in democratic societies.

Journalism Contest Winners Shed Light on Under-Reported Global Challenge: Road Safety

Winners of the Road Safety Reporting Competition and Awards drew attention to the threats faced by motorcyclists in Nigeria, poor highway design in Nepal, and the human toll of poor road safety globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where nine in 10 of all road deaths occur.