AAP FactCheck Team
Ben James – AAP FactCheck Editor
Ben is a British-born journalist, editor and author with more than a decade of experience working at news organisations in Australia and the UK. Before joining AAP, he worked as a news editor at News Corp Australia for various titles. Ben also previously worked at several UK newspapers, including The Argus in Brighton and The Sheffield Star.
Marty Silk – AAP FactCheck Deputy Editor
Marty is an Australian journalist and editor with more than two decades serving as an AAP newswire correspondent in Australia, the Pacific Islands, Europe and the Middle East, and most recently as the Queensland Chief of Staff.
William Summers – AAP FactCheck Journalist
William is a British-born journalist living in Melbourne. He has written for publications including ABC News, The Guardian, The New Daily and Crikey, and was a Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism finalist in 2017. William has a background in science and academic communications, having previously worked for the Royal Statistical Society in London, the Australian National Data Service and Australian universities.
Joseph Lew – AAP FactCheck Audience Growth Editor
Joseph is a writer and editor based in Naarm (Melbourne). Prior to joining AAP FactCheck, he wrangled the audiences at Crikey, Netflix and the ABC. His words have appeared in VICE, T Magazine, MTV and more.
Angela Young – AAP FactCheck Producer
Angela is a British-born journalist and editor with more than 20 years’ experience working at news organisations and publishers in Australia and the UK. She has written and edited for newspapers and magazines such as The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, News.com.au, Crikey, Grand Designs Australia and belle, covering topics as diverse as news, lifestyle, literature, finance, film, architecture and education.
Liam Petterson – AAP FactCheck Producer
Liam joined AAP in April 2024, after 3.5 years as an editor at The Conversation. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the University of Melbourne, and was awarded Melbourne Press Club Student Journalist of the Year 2019 for his work while interning at the ABC. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts.
David Williams – AAP FactCheck Journalist
David is an Australian journalist based in Auckland, New Zealand. He is published as an investigative journalist and has many years’ experience as both a metro daily journalist and regional newspaper editor with the former Rural Press. In New Zealand, he has worked as an academic and news magazine publisher. In 2015, his book Message to My Girl with Dr Jared Noel was a top-10 bestseller for several weeks.
Nik Dirga – AAP FactCheck Journalist
Nik is an editor and journalist who has lived in New Zealand since 2006. He has worked for newspapers across the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and has written for publications and websites including the New Zealand Herald, Radio New Zealand, The Spinoff and the NZ Listener.
Kate Atkinson – AAP FactCheck Journalist
Kate is a Sydney-based journalist with a background in student news and community radio. She completed a bachelor of communications at the University of Technology, Sydney, where she majored in journalism and political science.
Tom Wark – AAP FactCheck Journalist
Tom is a Sydney-based journalist with a background in sport and politics. He graduated with a combined degree in media and communications and international relations from the University of Sydney. He also worked as an Audio Descriptive Commentator during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Soofia Tariq – AAP FactCheck Journalist
Soofia is a Sydney-based journalist with a background in general news and politics across print, digital, audio, and video platforms. She has previously worked for SBS, The Canberra Times and Guardian Australia and graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney, with a degree in Communications.
James McManagan – AAP FactCheck Journalist
James is a Sydney-based journalist with a background in international news, OSINT investigation, and video innovation. Before joining AAP, James worked with ABC’s Innovation Lab and led Storyful Newswires’ APAC video team.
Blair Wise – AAP FactCheck Journalist
Blair is a proud Dunghutti journalist based in Newcastle. His long-form features have appeared on VICE, where he reported on university issues, youth drug use, and First Nations events. He previously worked as an editor and reporter for the University of Newcastle’s student media.
George Driver – AAP FactCheck Journalist
George is a Kiwi journalist based in Central Otago, New Zealand. He is the South Island correspondent for North & South magazine and has written for the country’s major publications, including RNZ, The Spinoff and the NZ Listener.
AAP FactCheck is accredited by the Poynter Institute’s International Fact Checking Network and adheres to its rigorous protocols.