Alexios Mantzarlis
Hi! I've spent the past decade working on the challenge of online misinformation and content moderation.
I am currently a principal on the Google Trust & Safety Intelligence team, focusing on misinformation and generative AI. I was previously a manager on the product policy team for Google Search, which is responsible for writing content policies for the search engine. Among other things, I led Search product policy's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
I first joined Google in August 2019 as the News and Information Credibility Lead. In that role, I led efforts to highlight fact checks to users in product (1, 2, 3), and share information on their reach. I was also responsible for initiatives supporting the fact-checking ecosystem’s response to the COVID-19 infodemic (1, 2). My blog post with tips to spot misinformation was featured on the Google homepage globally for International Fact-Checking Day in 2021.
From February to July 2019 I was a TED fellow researching whether the public can be meaningfully included in decision-making about information quality on the major platforms.
From September 2015 to February 2019, I was the founding director of the International Fact-Checking Network, the global coalition of fact-checking projects.
As Director of the IFCN, I helped draft the fact-checkers' code of principles, shepherded a seminal partnership between fact-checkers and Facebook, testified to the Italian Chamber of Deputies on the "fake news" phenomenon and helped launch International Fact-Checking Day. I also organized the annual Global Fact-Checking Summit, the premier conference on the topic.
I previously served as Managing Editor of Pagella Politica, Italy's main political fact-checking website. While at Pagella Politica, I got to present weekly fact-checking segments on Virus, a prime time talk show airing on the national broadcaster RAI 2.
My expertise has been recognized by several international institutions. In 2018 I was invited to join the European Union's High Level Group on fake news and online disinformation and to draft a lesson plan for UNESCO.
My publications include a chapter on fact-checking in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections in Truth Counts, a study on Zika and fake news published by the American Journal of Health Education, and another study on the mission and priorities of fact-checking sites published by Political Quarterly.
I've been quoted extensively on media outlets around the world including Al Jazeera, The Atlantic, BBC, Folha de S. Paulo, Le Monde, NPR and The Washington Post.
Before becoming a fact-checker, I worked for the United Nations and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies.
Media highlights
Stuff I've written
At Google
"Spot misinformation online with these tips" — Mar 31 2021 — The Keyword
"These global projects expand the reach of fact-checks" — Mar 16 2021 — The Keyword
"An open fund for projects debunking vaccine misinformation" — Jan 12 2021 — The Keyword
"COVID-19: $6.5 million to help fight coronavirus misinformation" — Apr 2 2020 — The Keyword
"How we highlight fact checks in Search and Google News" — Dec 19 2019 — The Keyword
As director of the International Fact-Checking Network
"In the fight against misinformation, the more you know the less you’re certain" — Oct 3 2018 — Internet Citizen
"America’s always-on partisan goggles hurt meaningful evaluation of fact-checking on Facebook" — Sep 13 2018 — Poynter
"Fact-checkers are no longer a fresh-faced movement. They’re fighting for the future of the internet. " — Jun 20 2018 — Poynter
"Four serious questions about Elon Musk’s silly credibility score" — May 24 2018 — Poynter
"Six Key Points from the EU Commission’s New Report on Disinformation" — Mar 12 2018 — Medium
"We need to get better at covering studies about fake news" — Mar 9 2018 — Poynter
"What that new major study about fake news means (and doesn't mean) for fact-checkers — Jan 8 2018 — Poynter
"366 links to understand fact-checking in 2016" — Dec 21 2016 — Poynter
"Fact-checking under President Trump" — Nov 10 2016 — Poynter
"Fact-checking doesn't 'backfire,' new study suggests" — Nov 2 2016 — Poynter
"Fact check: This is not really a post-fact election" — Oct 7 2016 — The Washington Post
"Those fact-checking chyrons can’t be just an anti-Trump gimmick" — Aug 13 2016 — Poynter
"Facebook should hire fact-checkers. Here's what they would do." — Aug 30 2016 — Poynter
Peer reviewed publications
"Amid Political Spin and Online Misinformation, Fact Checking Adapts" — Aug 31 2020 — Political Quarterly
"Spreading the (Fake) News: Exploring Health Messages on Social Media and the Implications for Health Professionals Using a Case Study" — Jun 7 2018 — American Journal of Health Education
On camera
This stuff's getting old at this point. I have more white hair than in these videos.