European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN)

VERIFIED MEMBERS

Membership in the EFCSN signifies an organisation’s rigorous commitment to provide accurate information ethically and transparently, without bias or prejudice and focus on matters in the public interest as well as a proven track record of excellence, integrity and accountability as definied in the European Code of Standards for Independent Fact-Checking Organisations.

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FactReview

Website

https://factreview.gr

Date

04/10/2024

Please, answer the following questions:

Applicant

Date: 07/05/2024

In addition to our core fact-checking activities, FactReview is engaged in several other initiatives aimed at combating misinformation and enhancing media literacy:

Collaboration on European projects: We are active participants in the EDMO Task Force for the EU elections, contributing to weekly reports that provide early warnings about potential misinformation and disinformation narratives related to the EU elections. We were also invited by our local EDMO hub, MedDMO, to participate in a recent discussion with the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, regarding misinformation in Europe and the initiatives to address the issue close to the EU elections.

Media literacy programs: We have conducted several seminars and workshops to improve media literacy. Notably, we collaborated with the Greek branch of the Goethe Institute to deliver a two-hour seminar on content verification methods, which was well received and led to additional seminars in 2 Greek cities. We have also held sessions for journalism students at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, focusing on tools for identifying false claims, and delivered a seminar on the state of fact-checking in Europe at the request of the Greek National Council for Radio and Television and the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission, both of which are the DSA competent authorities in Greece. At the moment we are also in partnership with the Athens Lifelong Learning Institute for a series of media literacy seminars in 3 Greek cities.

Educational resources and tools: Our website features a dedicated section with tools that enable readers to perform their quick fact-checks. We are also developing animated video guides to explain the use of specific tools, such as reverse image search.

Podcast series: We are in the process of developing a monthly podcast that will discuss significant topics covered each month, provide analyses on EU-related misinformation issues, and focus on topics like climate change, immigration, and LGBTQIA+ rights.

Article 2.2: Methodology

In order to be recognised as a verified member of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), operations must:

Best Practices:

In addition to the required standards listed above, the Code identifies the following as a best practice that is encouraged but not required to join the EFCSN.

Article 3.1: Non-Partisanship and Impartiality

In order to be recognised as a verified member of the European Fact-checking Standards Network (EFCSN), operations must:

Applicant

Date: 07/05/2024

FactReview is fully committed to editorial independence. Our editorial content is guided solely by our mission to provide accurate, unbiased information and our commitment to the public interest. Below we outline our policies that ensure editorial independence and we provide links to the pages of our website that outline each of the following.

Mechanisms Ensuring Editorial Independence:

1. Editorial Control:
All editorial decisions are made by our editorial team, which operates independently of any political party, government entity, or private interest group. Our editors and journalists have full discretion over the topics they choose to cover, the sources they consult, the methods they employ in their investigations, and the conclusions they draw from their research. The topics covered are mainly chosen and assigned by our editor-in-chief and senior editor although every journalist/fact-checker can suggest topics.

Relevant pages:

factreview.gr/the-methodology-of-fact-review/

factreview.gr/political-independence/

2. Funding and Partnerships:

FactReview discloses all funding sources and partnerships on our website to ensure transparency with our audience. We accept funding and enter into partnerships only under the condition that our donors and partners exert no influence over our editorial processes or content.

Relevant page:
factreview.gr/financial-transparency/

3. Conflict of Interest:

Employees and contributors to FactReview are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may compromise our editorial independence. In the interest of caution, we conduct our background checks on potential new members of our team to verify that there is indeed no conflict of interest that can affect their work. In cases where conflicts of interest are concealed by one or more of our journalists/fact-checkers or management staff, and this can be sufficiently proven, this individual or individuals are notified and stop working at FactReview.

Relevant page:

factreview.gr/the-methodology-of-fact-review/

4. Non-Partisanship:

FactReview does not endorse, support, or oppose any political party or candidate for public office. Our staff are prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities in a manner that could compromise our non-partisan stance.

Relevant page:

factreview.gr/political-independence/

5. Right of Reply:

In the spirit of fairness, we offer a right of reply to any individual or organization that is the subject of significant criticism or allegations in our reporting. In the course of our investigations, we also try to contact and take comments from people that are featured in our articles, whenever this is necessary and/or possible.

Relevant page:
factreview.gr/the-methodology-of-fact-review/

6. Corrections and Clarifications:

We are committed to correcting errors promptly and transparently. Our corrections policy is available on our website and outlines the process for issuing corrections and clarifications. We also have a dedicated page that lists all of our corrections, organized by date. Each entry contains the link to the article and a small description of the correction that was made and the date it was added.

Relevant pages:

factreview.gr/the-methodology-of-fact-review/

factreview.gr/corrections-archive/

7. Review and Compliance:

This policy will be reviewed annually to ensure it continues to meet our standards for editorial independence. Compliance with this policy is monitored by the editor-in-chief and the senior editor, both of whom are also co-founders and administrators of FactReview.

Relevant page:

factreview.gr/the-methodology-of-fact-review/

Applicant

Date: 07/05/2024

The section of our methodology page that specifically mentions our dedication to impartial coverage of claims across the political spectrum: factreview.gr/the-methodology-of-fact-review/

FactReview is a relatively new organization, and due to our limited resources, we have had fewer opportunities to conduct extensive fact-checks on political matters. To date, our fact-checking efforts that involve claims made by political figures have been limited. In the past year, we have covered four cases of claims made by politicians, all of which were related to the climate crisis and the denial of its impact as well as its anthropogenic causes.

Example 1: factreview.gr/2023/07/26/carbon-dioxide-and-wind-farm-misinformation-from-spartan-political-party-representative-in-greek-parliament

Example 2: factreview.gr/2023/08/05/warmer-historical-periods-in-the-earths-history-do-not-disprove-climate-change

Example 3:
https://factreview.gr/2024/05/08/scientific-misinfo-about-the-human-contribution-to-co2-emissions-and-climate-change/

While our coverage of political figures over the past year has been limited, we remain steadfast in our commitment to impartial and unbiased fact-checking. This commitment is a cornerstone of our methodology and is rigorously applied across all topics we cover, regardless of the political spectrum they may pertain to. We continue to strive for a balanced approach in our fact-checking endeavors, as outlined on our methodology page.

Charalampos Dimoulas (assessor)

Compliant

Date: 23/06/2024

There are provided just three examples, all related to minor political parties tending to adopt conspiracy theories. It would be interesting to see related reports about more difficult cases, involving dominant political parties.

Article 3.2: Privacy and Safety

In order to be recognised as a verified member of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), operations must:

Best Practices

In addition to the required standards listed above, the Code identifies the following as a best practice that is encouraged but not required to join the EFCSN.

Article 3.3: Honest corrections

In order to be recognised as a verified member of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), operations must:

Best Practices:

In addition to the required standards listed above, the Code identifies the following as best practices that are encouraged but not required to join the EFCSN.

Article 4.1: Organisational transparency

In order to be recognised as a verified member of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), operations must:

Applicant

Date: 07/05/2024

The link that directs to the business registry, containing all the relevant information about our company and our finances can be found on our page, here: factreview.gr/financial-transparency/

Charalampos Dimoulas (assessor)

Needs more info

Date: 23/06/2024

The link (https://publicity.businessportal.gr/company/167371840000) with the ownership and legal status of the operation and/or parent organization is not such easily recognized/accessible. Also, some of the information provided through this link should be part of the page.

Applicant

Needs more info

Date: 02/09/2024

We made some adjustments to the presentation to link to the business registry even easier to see/access. We included further information about the company, including a button that opens a PDF file with the company's statute and another button that opens a table with the shareholders' names and the percentage they hold in the company. Both buttons present the information within the page as popup windows. We remain available for any further improvements you believe are necessary.

Charalampos Dimoulas (assessor)

Compliant

Date: 06/09/2024

It is more clear know, so we are good!

Proof of registration/legal status:

Charalampos Dimoulas (assessor)

Compliant

Date: 23/06/2024

Again, the given link/page (https://factreview.gr/financial-transparency/) provides access to meaningful information (and it is positively evaluated to make such information available online) but is also kind of misleading. You cannot expect to find administrative/registrational/governance information about an organization under the name "financial-transparency".

Proof of ownership:

Charalampos Dimoulas (assessor)

Compliant

Date: 23/06/2024

Proof of governance structure:

Charalampos Dimoulas (assessor)

Compliant

Date: 23/06/2024

Again, the root link/page (https://factreview.gr/the-fact-review-team/) is kind of misleading. You cannot expect to find administrative/registrational/governance information about an organization under the name "the-fact-review-team". It is also non convenient that governance information is provided in two different sections/pages, with little relation (https://factreview.gr/the-fact-review-team/ and https://factreview.gr/financial-transparency/).

Article 4.2: Financial transparency and conflicts of interest

In order to be recognised as a verified member of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), organisations or parent organisations must:

Best Practices

In addition to the required standards listed above, the Code identifies the following as a best practice that is encouraged but not required to join the EFCSN.

I. ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY In order to apply to the EFCSN, your fact-checking operation must first meet the criteria outlined in Chapter 5.2 of the Code.

1. When and why was your fact-checking operation started?

2. How many people work or volunteer in the operation and what are their roles?

3. Please list any activities besides fact-checking that your operation engages in.

4. What are the goals of your fact-checking operation over the coming year?

5. Please explain the geographical scope of your fact-checking operation and how you fit the Code’s requirement to “have a substantial and demonstrable focus on one or more of the countries of the Council of Europe, Kosovo, Belarus or Russia”.

5.b Please provide all the relevant information to demonstrate the existence of “a meaningful connection with the country or countries where the mis- and disinformation your organization fact-check originates from”.

6. Please attach a list of an average of four original fact-checks per month from the past year if this is your first time applying to the EFCSN or from the past two years if you are renewing your application.

7. Please note which policies you have had to change, if any, over the past 6 months in order to comply with the Code.

2.A. Make available and easily accessible on their website an explanation of the process used to select, research and complete investigations, including a definition of any rating systems used.

2.B. Assess the merits of the evidence found using the same standards applied to evidence on equivalent claims, regardless of who made the claim.

2.C. Primarily focus on topics that are in the public interest, defined here as issues that concern the welfare of society or individuals, and be willing to explain, if requested by an assessor, how various investigations fit this definition.

2.D. Make available and easily accessible on their website a channel through which the public can submit possible claims for verification and encourage users to send claims to check, while making it clear what readers can legitimately expect will be fact-checked and what isn’t fact-checkable.

2.E. Identify and include in publications, when possible, access to all evidence or other required information for a reader to replicate the verification process.

2.F. Provide evidence for every pertinent factual statement made in an investigation, relying on primary sources where possible. Set out in its fact checks relevant evidence that appears to support the claim as well as relevant evidence that appears to undermine it.

2.H. Name all sources except when their safety is at risk. In such exceptions, anonymous sources may only be included if the information they provide is corroborated by named sources or material evidence.

2.I. When quoting experts, establish their credibility in the relevant topic.

2.J. Ensure each investigation undergoes at least one round of editing by someone other than the author before publication.

2.K. Present findings in precise, factual and non-emotive language, while taking care not to overstate conclusions.

2.K. Present findings in precise, factual and non-emotive language, while taking care not to overstate conclusions.

3.1.A. Be editorially free and politically independent.

3.1.B. Not endorse or advise the public to vote for any political parties or candidates for public office.

3.1.C. Not conclude any agreement or partnership with a political party or any other public relations and similar activities that could compromise the operation’s reputation for independence and impartiality

3.1.D. Not focus investigations unduly on one particular political party or side of the political spectrum.

3.1.E. Not employ anyone who holds a salaried and/or prominent position in a political party, government, state or public company under the direct control of a political party or government.

3.1.F. Explicitly address in publications any reasonable conflict of interest or political bias, including from experts or organisations cited.

3.1.H. Have internal policies that bar employees from accepting in a professional context any gifts, favours, or services with advantageous conditions that go beyond common social and courtesy items, and have procedures in place to take action if they do.

3.1.I. Make available and easily accessible on their website these and any other non-partisanship policies (See template in Annex 3)

3.1.J. Only advocate for issues that are relevant to the mission of fact-checking and are compatible with a reputation for independence and impartiality. Organisations that engage in advocacy must set out public guidelines on how they adhere to these standards.

3.2.A. Obscure the image and/or identity of subjects of an investigation when there is a reasonable concern for their safety.

3.2.B. Take measures to avoid exposing the source or identity of user-generated disinformation content to undue public scrutiny.

3.2.C. Be restrictive, respectful and considerate when mentioning or identifying minors and make efforts to protect their privacy.

3.2.D. Anonymise any personal information that could allow the harassment of people (i.e. at least partially concealing telephone numbers, IDs or passports, bank account numbers, email addresses…).

3.2.E. When appropriate and possible, a right-of-reply should be offered to any named person or organisation who is the source of the inaccurate claim and/or is the subject of significant criticism or allegations.

3.2.F. Put in place measures that aim to address the risk of trauma or harassment experienced by staff as a result of the operation’s activities, including but not limited to providing training to prevent and identify symptoms.

3.3.A. Correct every known mistake promptly with a correction note in the same publication in which the error was made; if the error is only typographical, grammatical or stylistic, a correction note is not needed.

3.3.B. When the original publication in which the mistake was made is not editable, disseminate the correction in the same format and channel as the original so that as far as possible users of the original see the correction and the corrected version.

3.3.E. Make available and easily accessible on their websites a corrections policy and a record of the corrections published over the previous year in the first application for EFCSN membership and of the previous two years upon renewal.

3.3.F. Include in their corrections policy, available and easily accessible on their websites, a detailed account of how they assess requests for corrections.

3.3.G. Offer audiences direct channels to request a correction, within the corrections policy on their website.

3.3.H. Inform audiences of the possibility of submitting a complaint to the EFCSN under the terms of article 6 with a link to the complaint form.

3.3.I. Undergo an internal and documented annual review of published corrections to determine whether methodological and procedural changes should be made to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.

3.3.H. Inform audiences of the possibility of submitting a complaint to the EFCSN under the terms of article 6 with a link to the complaint form.

4.1.A. Make available and easily accessible on their website a statement that sets out the applicant’s organisational structure and makes clear how and by whom editorial control is exercised.

4.1.B. Make available and easily accessible on their website regularly updated information related to the ownership and legal status of the operation and/or parent organisation. People or entities holding over 5% of the shares must be disclosed (see template in Annex 4).

4.1.C. Make available and easily accessible on their website regularly updated information related to the governance of the operation and/or the parent organisation (see template in Annex 5).

4.1.D. Provide proof of the ownership, legal status and governance of the organisation to the external assessors

4.1.E. Make available and easily accessible on their website regularly updated information about the identity of the editors or decision makers behind the operation, including any relevant previous roles.

4.1.F. Make available and easily accessible on their website regularly updated information about the positions held by all staff involved in the fact-checking operation’s editorial output, including any relevant previous roles.

4.1.G. Make available and easily accessible on their website a statement setting out the operation’s mission, values and internal guidelines in place to protect its independence.

4.1.H. Make available and easily accessible on their website the organisation’s bylaws, understood as the rules or statutes that govern the members of an organisation.

4.2.A. Disclose all income sources contributing 1% or 5.000 euros (whichever the higher), from the most recent annual accounts when joining and the last two annual accounts when renewing membership, to external assessors and the Governance Body

4.2.D. Make available and easily accessible on their website an updated declaration of all unpaid significant commitments made to other organisations (see Annex 9).

4.2.F. Make available and easily accessible on their website goods and services they receive from external sources, including paid subscriptions or free access to tools, software and/or advertising, that make a material difference to their finances (5% of net income).

4.2.H. Make available and easily accessible on or from their website the full annual accounts of their organisation for each year since joining the EFCSN.