An analysis done this week by the Reporters’ Lab at Duke University found that nearly half of them – 109 of the 236 fact-checkers we track – operate in places where legal protections and the safety of the press are rated “problematic,” “difficult” or “very serious,” according to new data from the World Press Freedom Index. And the impact is even more evident when you count by location: More than two-thirds of the countries where the Reporters’ Lab lists active fact-checking projects are also places where the World Press Freedom Index says journalists are most vulnerable.