In 2015, the institute launched the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which sets a code of ethics for fact-checking organizations. The IFCN reviews fact-checkers for compliance with its code, and issues a certification to publishers who pass the audit. The certification lasts for one year, and fact-checkers must be re-examined annually to retain their certifications. Google, Facebook, and other technology companies use the IFCN's certification to vet publishers for fact-checking contracts. * In 2018, the Poynter Institute began a cooperation with the content recommendation network Revcontent, to stop misinformation and fake news in articles supplying Revcontent with fact-checking provided by their International Fact-checking Network. * In March 2018, Google appointed Poynter Institute as the leader of their MediaWise program. Google funded this with a 3 million dollar grant. * Since 2019, The Washington Post has been partnering with the Poynter Institute to increase diversity in media. Other sponsors are CNN. * In January 2020, having received funding from Facebook, the Poynter Institute was able to expand the MediaWise Programme with a national media literacy program called MediaWise Voter project to reach 2 million American first-time voter college students, helping them to be better prepared and informed for the 2020 elections. * The Poynter Institute received over 737,000 dollars in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. * In 2019, Poynter used various "fake news" databases (including those curated by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, Merrimack College, PolitiFact, and Snopes) to compile a list of over 515 news websites that it labeled "unreliable". Poynter called on advertisers to "blacklist" the sites on the list. The list included conservative news websites such as the Washington Examiner, The Washington Free Beacon, and The Daily Signal. After backlash, Poynter retracted the list, citing "weaknesses in the methodology". Poynter issued a statement, saying: "We regret that we failed to ensure that the data was rigorous before publication, and apologize for the confusion and agitation caused by its publication." Reason magazine says that in May 2019, the Poynter Institute was forced to retract a List of 500 Fake news Sites, many of them conservative news and Think tank websites, when it emerged that the list in itself was unreliable as it had been written by a Southern Poverty Law Center Podcast Producer. *** Reminder; In 2015, the institute launched the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which sets a code of ethics for fact-checking organizations. The IFCN reviews fact-checkers for compliance with its code, and issues a certification to publishers who pass the audit. The certification lasts for one year, and fact-checkers must be re-examined annually to retain their certifications. Google, Facebook, and other technology companies use the IFCN's certification to vet publishers for fact-checking contracts.