Far-sighted individuals – people such as Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, primatologist Jane Goodall, historian David Olusoga and Gillian Tett, the financial journalist who warned of the 2008 global financial crash – are among those who have been publicly honoured in the past by the British Academy, the body that promotes excellence in the social sciences and humanities.
But this year, for the first time, the Observer can reveal, the academy’s prestigious president’s medal, awarded annually, will go instead to a team of people.
The recipient of the 2022 medal is Full Fact – an organisation that checks information in the public sphere, ranging from news coverage to political campaigns – “in recognition of its work finding, exposing and countering misinformation and misleading claims”.
The decision to break with tradition and honour a group rather than one person is designed to highlight the growing importance of teamwork and collaboration.
“Every single member of the Full Fact team has played an integral role in public life over recent years by tackling the misleading claims, misinformation and disinformation that erode democratic institutions and processes,” said Prof Julia Black, president of the British Academy, before the announcement of the award this week.
She added: “This is painstaking and high-stakes work that requires a whole range of skills, dedication and commitment. I hope that we can raise awareness of this invaluable work and its vital contribution to the health of democratic society.”
Full Fact was founded in 2010 by a cross-party group who work together as factcheckers and campaigners aiming to counter the spread of both misinformation and deliberate disinformation.
Learning of the honour, Will Moy, chief executive of Full Fact, said he was “thrilled”.
He added: “We think this message from the academy is timely and important. Full Fact’s team has had to respond to all kinds of challenges in the past few years – including UK politics, the pandemic, and the invasion of Ukraine – and risen to them all. This recognition is well timed to celebrate all that.”
News of the award follows research released last week by Impress, the independent press regulator, that showed a strong link between the public’s growing mistrust in journalism and its shrinking knowledge of how the media industry works.
A survey of more than 3,000 people carried out with the universities of Derby and Leeds revealed that more than half of those asked had little understanding of how editorial decisions are generally made or of how British news coverage is organised and monitored.
