Organization: Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
Applicant: #Faktenfuchs
Assessor: Stephan Mündges
Background
The BR Faktenfuchs is the fact-checking unit of the news section BR24 of the regional public service broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk. It is editorially independent and the Faktenfuchs unit is well-established and well regarded.BR24 #Faktenfuchs has been an IFCN Signatory since 2022.
Assessment Conclusion
The BR24 #Faktenfuchs offers in-depth, well researched fact-checks of relevant claims. The applicant adheres to all criteria of the IFCN Code of Principles. Some minor issues have been noted as comments for Criteria 2.2, 5.4, 5.5, and 6.3. However, these issues are no basis to reject the application or demand changes.
Stephan Mündges assesses application as Compliant
A short summary in native publishing language
Die Bewerbung erfüllt die Kriterien des IFCN Codes. Alle Transparenzregeln werden beachtet, die Texte sind sorgfältig recherchiert und sehr fundiert (teils für Otto-Normal-Nutzende vllt sogar etwas zu ausführlich). Ein paar kleine Kritikpunkte an Einzelfällen finden sich in den Kommentaren zu den Kriterien 2.2, 5.4, 5.5 und 6.3.
Section 1: Eligibility to be a signatory
To be eligible to be a signatory, applicants must meet these six criteria
- 1.1 The applicant is a legally registered organization, or a distinct team or unit within a legally registered organization, and details of this are easily found on its website.
- 1.2 The team, unit or organization is set up exclusively for the purpose of fact-checking.
- 1.3 The applicant has published an average of at least one fact check a week over the course of the six months prior to the date of application. For applicants from countries with at least 5 or more verified signatories need to have at least a fact check a week over the twelve months of publishing track. Consult to factchecknet@poynter.org for confirmation.
- 1.4 On average, at least 75% of the applicant’s fact checks focus on claims related to issues that, in the view of the IFCN, relate to or could have an impact on the welfare or well-being of individuals, the general public or society.
- 1.5 The applicant’s editorial output is not, in the view of the IFCN, controlled by the state, a political party or politician.
- 1.6 If the organization receives funding from local or foreign state or political sources, it provides a statement on its site setting out to the satisfaction of the IFCN, how it ensures its funders do not influence the findings of its reports.
Criteria 1.1
Proof you meet criteria
Please explain where on your website you set out information about your organization’s legal status and how this complies with criteria. Attach a link to the relevant page of your website.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
The BR24 #Faktenfuchs ist set up exclusively for the purposes of fact-checking. We provide further explanations about that on our BR24 #Faktenfuchs website, which is part of the BR24 internet presence: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/faktenfuchs-faktencheck,QzSIzl3. At the top of the page we explain in an article https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/br24-faktenfuchs-faktenchecker-wie-wir-arbeiten,ScNSHNZ who we are and how we work and that we are part of BR24, which is the news brand of the bavarian public broadcaster "Bayerischer Rundfunk" (BR). We also explain in another article https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/wer-wir-sind-und-wie-wir-uns-finanzieren,SRACpK2, how the BR is working, which legal status it has and how it is financed. Information about the legal status of Bayerischer Rundfunk is also provided here: https://www.br.de/unternehmen/inhalt/organisation/rechtsgrundlagen/index.html
Criteria 1.2
Proof you meet criteria
Please answer the following questions – (see notes in Guidelines for Application on how to answer)
1. When and why was your fact-checking operation started?
2. How many people work or volunteer in the organization and what are their roles?
3. What different activities does your organization carry out?
4. What are the goals of your fact-checking operation over the coming year?
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago)
1. The Bayerischer Rundfunk started the BR24 #Faktenfuchs in 2017 as a fact checking unit. The BR aims to check claims, rumours and disinformation which is spread on the internet. In 2016 BR24 supported the development of the add-on #factfox: a tool to help community managers spreading facts. The #factfox was kind of a „kickstarter“ for the #Faktenfuchs. The development of the #factfox won the Hackathon of the dpa (german press agency) (https://www.br.de/nachricht/hackathon-dpa-hauptpreis-factfox-100.html). The BR24 #Faktenfuchs team had been trained in all techniques of verification from the very beginning.
2. We are a team of up to eight journalists in the fact-checking unit BR24 #Faktenfuchs, who work in a team of 3-5 per day. Everyone in the team works as a researcher/ fact checker; everyone writes articles after doing the research, which are published on the BR24 website, and nearly everyone also produces audios for radio contribution in BR24 radio and web videos for the social media output of BR24 as well.
3. The Bayerischer Rundfunk is a public broadcaster and part of the ARD - the working group of public broadcasters of the Federal Republic of Germany. BR24 is the news section of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, which broadcasts on Radio and Television and publishes content on the internet. The BR24 #Faktenfuchs is a fact checking unit; we contribute input to all platforms of BR24: articles for the BR24 website and app, audios for BR24 radio, a graphic video format for the BR24 Facebook channel an also videos for the BR24 TikTok channel. The BR24 television news also broadcasts TV reports based on the research of the #Faktenfuchs team. And we do verification work for all departments of the Bayerischer Rundfunk. We also do trainings for example for teachers, to explain, how disinformation can be recognized and fought.
4. In October 2023 there will be elections in Bavaria for the bavarian parliament. We are prepared to fight disinformation ahead of the election and afterwards. We also plan to place the #Faktenfuchs even more specifically in the various social media channels of BR24 in order to combat disinformation where we encounter it. We also contribute our fact checks in six different languages to help people, whose mother language is not german, to get information about rumours they might hear or read (https://www.br.de/nachrichten/faktenfuchs-in-english-tuerk-hrvatski-italiano-arabic-romana,SUeRCMg).
Criteria 1.3
Proof you meet criteria
- The applicant has published an average of at least one fact check a week over the course of the six months prior to the date of application.
- For applicants from countries with at least 5 or more verified signatories need to have at least a fact check a week over the twelve months of publishing track.
- Consult to factchecknet@poynter.org for confirmation.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
In the past half year, the BR24 #Faktenfuchs has published between four and eight fact check-articles per month, that equals an average of one to two articles a week: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xu4CyoDfsTyeKBaKpUhP_mK5G3_9zA9KvG5i8KrE6tk/edit?usp=sharing
Criteria 1.4
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will assess compliance through a review of the fact checks published over the previous three months. No additional information required.
Criteria 1.5
Proof you meet criteria
Please explain any commercial, financial and/or institutional relationship your organization has to the state, politicians or political parties in the country or countries you cover. Also explain funding or support received from foreign as well as local state or political actors over the previous financial year.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
The #Faktenfuchs team is part of BR24, the news brand of the Bavarian public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR). http://special.br.de/das-ist-der-br/erlebniswelt-online.php The BR is part of the ARD network. The BR’s duty and mission is based on a law called Rundfunkgesetz (broadcasting law https://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/BayRuFuG/true ): The BR must provide primary care in the news field ("mediale Grundversorgung") that is independent and not-commercial for all citizens. This is possible through solidarity financing via the broadcasting fee (Rundfunkbeitrag), which is no tax, and therefore guarantees independence from state. In 2021 the broadcasting fee took up around 85 percent of the BR’s revenue. In 2021, Bayerischer Rundfunk recorded revenues of just over a billion euros. The advertising revenues made up a good two percent. The finances of the Bayerischer Rundfunk are made transparent here: https://www.br.de/unternehmen/inhalt/organisation/br-zahlen-finanzen-v2-100.html and here: https://www.br.de/unternehmen/inhalt/organisation/geschaeftsbericht-bilanz-zahlen102.html and here: https://www.br.de/unternehmen/inhalt/organisation/beteiligungsbericht-102.html
Over and above this public financing the BR24 #Faktenfuchs does not receive any financial or institutional funding or support from the state, politicians or political parties or political actors.
Informally, the team cooperates with scientists on the efficiency of fact checks and on improving tools for fact checking. Also, we cooperate informally with Google to use the Google Factcheck Markup Tool, to spread our findings. No contracts or financial support are related to these informal projects of cooperation. We use the https://www.factfox.io/ to spread our findings in social networks. The add-on was developed with the support of BR24 in 2016.
Criteria 1.6
Proof you meet criteria
If you confirmed the organization receives funding from local or foreign state or political sources, provide a link to where on your website you set out how you ensure the editorial independence of your work.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
The BR is mainly financed through the broadcasting fees, which guarantees the editorial independence of our work. There is no funding received. (see criteria 1.5)
Section 2: A commitment to Non-partisanship and Fairness
To be compliant on nonpartisanship and fairness, applicants must meet these five criteria
- 2.1 The applicant fact-checks using the same high standards of evidence and judgement for equivalent claims regardless of who made the claim.
- 2.2 The applicant does not unduly concentrate its fact-checking on any one side, considers the reach and importance of claims it selects to check and publishes a short statement on its website to set out how it selects claims to check.
- 2.3 The applicant discloses in its fact checks relevant interests of the sources it quotes where the reader might reasonably conclude those interests could influence the accuracy of the evidence provided. It also discloses in its fact checks any commercial or other such relationships it has that a member of the public might reasonably conclude could influence the findings of the fact check.
- 2.4 The applicant is not as an organization affiliated with nor declares or shows support for any party, any politician or political candidate, nor does it advocate for or against any policy positions on any issues save for transparency and accuracy in public debate.
- 2.5 The applicant sets out its policy on non-partisanship for staff on its site. Save for the issues of accuracy and transparency, the applicant’s staff do not get involved in advocacy or publicise their views on policy issues the organization might fact check in such a way as might lead a reasonable member of the public to see the organization’s work as biased.
Criteria 2.1
Proof you meet criteria
Please share links to 10 fact checks published over the past year that you believe demonstrate your non-partisanship.
Please briefly explain how the fact checks selected show that (I) you use the same high standards of evidence for equivalent claims, (II) follow the same essential process for every fact check and (III) let the evidence dictate your conclusions.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
In general, the #Faktenfuchs team chooses topics for fact checks mainly on the basis of their distribution and the relevance of the claim that has been made for a broader audience. We look at the sender/ the claim author, too, of course. But we don’t exclude any particular sender for their opinion, alliance with a political side or party or other aspects. If the sender and its claim remain, as far as the team can determine, in a limited bubble, the team will not fact check them - in order to not start spreading the false information or increasing the publicity of the author - as BR24 #Faktenfuchs has a potentially very big audience. There is no fixed number of social media interactions that makes us decide for or against fact-checking a claim. But we try to look at the accounts that distribute disinformation. There are numerous factors we regularly consider: For example, has the claim left the circle of left- or rightwing extremism and conspiracy theorists? Has it been picked up by a party that has been elected into a local, regional or national government? Do our social media managers notice a relatively high amount of comments in relation to the claim? Do we receive e-mails by readers on a certain rumour? Does our social listening manager notice trends? We discuss all these points as a team.
Also we do not pick up and therefore spread rumours or theories that cannot be fact checked. In the case of conspiracy theories we focus on fact-checking falsifiable or verifiable claims made to support a conspiracy theory. Our goal is to highlight that the facts presented don’t add up. In other cases we explain the bigger story, like: what strategies do conspiracy theorists use to increase their influence? In any case we reflect on our own influence on readers considering our public broadcasting mission and the extent of our audience reach.
We fact check claims from politicians of all political parties - whether they are politically in charge or not. Next to claims made by the governing party, there is, no doubt, a tendency to fact-check claims made by parties or groups from the rightwing spectrum – as the majority of disinformation comes, as studies have shown, from rightwing and extremist senders. But the #Faktenfuchs team maintains parity - as this is of very high importance for the BR as a public broadcasting entity. We especially lay an eye on maintaining parity when elections are coming up. We fact check claims made by politicians of every political party in the parliament before elections, especially if they are made in BR programmes.
Ahead of the elections to the State Parliament of Bavaria in October 2023 the BR has a number of TV shows where candidates of all parties represented in the BavarianvParliament have the opportunity to answer questions and to explain their views of different topics. The BR24 #Faktenfuchs will cover all of these shows. Please check our website at the end of September to find these fact checks. https://www.br.de/nachrichten/faktenfuchs-faktencheck,QzSIzl3
We do not only report balanced between parties, but also take the neutrality of experts into account when selecting who we talk to. We check if they are involved in any political party or society and mainly contact scientists from universities instead of private research companies. Also, we check if scientific studies are reliable, by whom they were paid for and who did the study. Furthermore, we use OSINT-tools (https://start.me/p/xbk65R/verifikations-toolkit-br24-faktenfuchs) to detect disinformation and manipulated material and explain the use of these tools to our readers in order to increase the transparency of our fact checks.
We take claims seriously and always do our fact checking work in an open-ended way, based on scientific knowledge. Both outcomes are possible: That the claim might be false or correct. We take the worries and questions often lying behind false or misleading claims seriously and do not exclude these topics from our work - we rather take exactly these as our causes.
Examples:
Was Politiker mit eigenen Faktenchecks bezwecken https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/was-parteien-mit-eigenen-faktenchecks-bezwecken-ein-faktenfuchs,Thq5zHn
Wie prorussische Propaganda Snowden und Assange vereinnahmt https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/wie-prorussische-propaganda-assange-und-snowden-vereinnahmt,TfAh03N
"15-Minuten-Städte": Von der Vision zur Verschwörungstheorie https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/15-minuten-staedte-von-der-vision-zur-verschwoerungstheorie,TX369PO
Wie einige Finanz-Youtuber Verschwörungstheorien bedienen https://www.br.de/nachrichten/netzwelt/wie-einige-finanz-youtuber-verschwoerungstheorien-bedienen,TYgEitl
#Faktenfuchs: Ist die Energiewende ohne Stromtrassen möglich? https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/ist-die-energiewende-ohne-stromtrassen-moeglich-faktenfuchs,TW0dlnf
Warum Polizisten Klima-Aktivisten nicht kleben lassen https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/warum-polizisten-klima-aktivisten-nicht-kleben-lassen-faktenfuchs,TRDBUZV
#Faktenfuchs: Ist Bayern wirklich führend bei den Erneuerbaren? https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/erneuerbare-energien-ist-bayern-wirklich-fuehrend-faktenfuchs,TE13Hq1
Studie: Covid-Impfung kann Menstruationszyklus verlängern https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/covid-impfung-kann-menstruationszyklus-verlaengern,TJUcx56
Krypto-Scams: Wie Betrüger Corona-Skeptiker ins Visier nehmen https://www.br.de/nachrichten/netzwelt/krypto-scams-wie-betrueger-corona-skeptiker-ins-visier-nehmen,TDRLNXU
#Faktenfuchs: Fake-FDP-Plakat zwischen Kunst und Desinformation https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/faktenfuchs-fake-fdp-plakat-zwischen-kunst-und-desinformation,TFWNULu
Criteria 2.2
Proof you meet criteria
Please share a link to a place on your website where you explain how you select claims to check, explaining how you ensure you do not unduly concentrate your fact-checking on any one side, and how you consider the reach and importance of the claims you select to check.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
Stephan Mündges Assessor
19-Sep-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
Overall compliant, however, information about how the applicant considers the reach and importance of the claims selected should be provided in more detail.
done_all 2.2 marked as Compliant by Stephan Mündges.
Criteria 2.3
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will assess compliance through a review of the fact checks published over the previous year. No additional information required.
Stephan Mündges Assessor
19-Sep-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 11 months ago
done_all 2.3 marked as Compliant by Stephan Mündges.
Criteria 2.4
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will assess compliance through a review of the fact checks published over the previous year. No additional information required.
Criteria 2.5
Proof you meet criteria
Please share a link to a place on your website where you publish a statement setting out your policy on non-partisanship for staff and how it ensures the organization meets this criteria.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/br24-faktenfuchs-faktenchecker-wie-wir-arbeiten,ScNSHNZ (see paragraph: "So verpflichten wir uns zur Unabhängigkeit")
Section 3: A commitment to Standards and Transparency of Sources
To be compliant on sources, applicants must meet these four criteria
- 3.1 The applicant identifies the source of all significant evidence used in their fact checks, providing relevant links where the source is available online, in such a way that users can replicate their work if they wish. In cases where identifying the source would compromise the source’s personal security, the applicant provides as much detail as compatible with the source’s safety.
- 3.2 The applicant uses the best available primary, not secondary, sources of evidence wherever suitable primary sources are available. Where suitable primary sources are not available, the applicant explains the use of a secondary source.
- 3.3 The applicant checks all key elements of claims against more than one named source of evidence save where the one source is the only source relevant on the topic.
- 3.4 The applicant identifies in its fact checks the relevant interests of the sources it uses where the reader might reasonably conclude those interests could influence the accuracy of the evidence provided.
Criteria 3.1
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the applicant’s use of sources in a randomised sample of its fact checks to assess compliance. No additional evidence is required.
Stephan Mündges Assessor
19-Sep-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
Overall compliant. However, a review of a random sample of fact-checks revealed two instances where false claims were cited which were not linked to (here https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/faktenfuchs-hubert-aiwanger-zitat-zu-gefluechteten-ist-verkuerzt,Tp4kml8 and here https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/faktenfuchs-wie-verbreitet-sind-woelfe-in-bayern,TnqrKzv ). Though there is an argument to be made for not linking to false claims in order not to spread them further, it is common practice of most German-language IFCN Signatories to document false claims through links (usually by archiving posts etc. in an archive service).
done_all 3.1 marked as Compliant by Stephan Mündges.
Criteria 3.2
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the applicant’s use of sources in a randomised sample of its fact checks to assess compliance. No additional evidence is required.
Criteria 3.3
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the applicant’s use of sources in a randomised sample of its fact checks to assess compliance. No additional evidence is required.
Criteria 3.4
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the applicant’s use of sources in a randomised sample of its fact checks to assess compliance. No additional evidence is required.
Section 4: A commitment to Transparency of Funding & Organization
To be compliant on funding and organization, applicants must meet these five criteria
- 4.1 Applicants that are independent organizations have a page on their website detailing each source of funding accounting for 5% or more of total revenue for its previous financial year. This page also sets out the legal form in which the organization is registered (e.g. as a non-profit, as a company etc).
- 4.2 Applicants that are the fact-checking section or unit of a media house or other parent organization make a statement on ownership.
- 4.3 A statement on the applicant’s website sets out the applicant’s organizational structure and makes clear how and by whom editorial control is exercised.
- 4.4 A page on the applicant’s website details the professional biography of all those who, according to the organizational structure and play a significant part in its editorial output.
- 4.5 The applicant provides easy means on its website and/or via social media for users to communicate with the editorial team.
Criteria 4.1
Proof you meet criteria
Please confirm whether you are an ‘independent organization’
or ‘the fact-checking section or unit of a media house or other parent organization’ and share proof of this organizational status.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
The #Faktenfuchs team is part of BR24, the digital news brand of the Bavarian public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunks (BR). https://www.br.de/nachrichten/-nachrichten-des-bayerischen-rundfunks-hier-ist-br24,STxuepK
The BR is part of the ARD network, which is an independent Organization. http://special.br.de/das-ist-der-br/ein-starkes-medienunternehmen.php
Criteria 4.2
Proof you meet criteria
If your organization is an “independent organization”, please share a link to the page on your website where you detail your funding and indicate the legal form in which the organization is registered (e.g. as a non-profit, as a company etc).
If your organization is “the fact-checking section or unit of a media house or other parent organization”, please share a link to the statement on your website about your ownership.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
Criteria 4.3
Proof you meet criteria
Please share a link to where on your website you set out your organizational structure, making clear how and by whom editorial control is exercised.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
The #Faktenfuchs-unit is part of BR24, which is part of the "Programmdirektion Information" of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, shown in this organization chart: https://www.br.de/unternehmen/inhalt/organisation/br-unternehmensstruktur-organigramm-100.html
Details about the organizational structure and the editorial control are explained here: https://www.br.de/unternehmen/inhalt/organisation/index.html
All this is summarized in this article, linked on the top of the #Faktenfuchs-website: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/wer-wir-sind-und-wie-wir-uns-finanzieren,SRACpK2
Criteria 4.4
Proof you meet criteria
Please share a link to where on your website you set out the professional biographies of those who play a significant part in your organization’s editorial output.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/faktenfuchs-unser-team,SRAF9ZX
This can be found directly at the top of our website https://www.br.de/nachrichten/faktenfuchs-faktencheck,QzSIzl3
Criteria 4.5
Proof you meet criteria
Please share a link to where on your website you encourage users to communicate with your editorial team.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/faktenfuchs-wir-sind-erreichbar,SRA7o7k
This can be found directly at the top of our website https://www.br.de/nachrichten/faktenfuchs-faktencheck,QzSIzl3
In addition, users can leave comments below the #Faktenfuchs article. The teams of BR24 #Faktenfuchs and of the BR24 community management read the comments and respond if necessary. The same applies to tweets via the BR24 Twitter account. (Example: https://twitter.com/BR24/status/1685649193418039296). If users tag @faktenfuchs in messages, we're notified as well and respond if necessary.
Section 5: A commitment to Standards and Transparency of Methodology
To be compliant on methodology, applicants must meet these six criteria
- 5.1 The applicant publishes on its website a statement about the methodology it uses to select, research, write and publish its fact checks.
- 5.2 The applicant selects claims to check based primarily on the reach and importance of the claims, and where possible explains the reason for choosing the claim to check.
- 5.3 The applicant sets out in its fact checks relevant evidence that appears to support the claim as well as relevant evidence that appears to undermine it.
- 5.4 The applicant in its fact checks assesses the merits of the evidence found using the same high standards applied to evidence on equivalent claims, regardless of who made the claim.
- 5.5 The applicant seeks where possible to contact those who made the claim to seek supporting evidence, noting that (I) this is often not possible with online claims, (II) if the person who makes the claim fails to reply in a timely way this should not impede the fact check, (III) if a speaker adds caveats to the claim, the fact-checker should be free to continue with checking the original claim, (IV) fact-checkers may not wish to contact the person who made the claim for safety or other legitimate reasons.
- 5.6 The applicant encourages users to send in claims to check, while making it clear what readers can legitimately expect will be fact-checked and what isn’t fact-checkable.
Criteria 5.1
Proof you meet criteria
Please provide a link to the statement on your website that explains the methodology you use to select, research, write and publish your fact checks.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/br24-faktenfuchs-faktenchecker-wie-wir-arbeiten,ScNSHNZ
This can be found directly at the top of our website https://www.br.de/nachrichten/faktenfuchs-faktencheck,QzSIzl3
Criteria 5.2
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the methodology used in a randomised sample of your fact checks to assess compliance with these criteria. No additional evidence is required.
Criteria 5.3
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the methodology used in a randomised sample of your fact checks to assess compliance with these criteria. No additional evidence is required.
Criteria 5.4
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the methodology used in a randomised sample of your fact checks to assess compliance with these criteria. No additional evidence is required.
Stephan Mündges Assessor
19-Sep-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
Overall compliant. However, a review of a random sample of fact-checks revealed one instance where the Criteria was not fully met. In this article https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/faktenfuchs-wahlarenen-mit-soeder-und-hartmann-im-faktencheck,Tpk8LvO (section Zuwanderung nach Bayern) the applicant assesses crime rate in relation to population size of states (which is correct), but migration is assessed in total numbers; however, if assesed in relation to population size Bayern has more migrants entering than NRW.
done_all 5.4 marked as Compliant by Stephan Mündges.
Criteria 5.5
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the methodology used in a randomised sample of your fact checks to assess compliance with these criteria. No additional evidence is required.
Stephan Mündges Assessor
19-Sep-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
Overall compliant. However, a review of a random sample of fact-checks revealed one instance where the criteria was not met. In the article https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/landtagswahl-bayern-ja-der-wahlvorstand-darf-stoerer-aus-dem-wahllokal-schicken-faktenfuchs,TosGXTv a false claim by the AfD is mentioned. But according to the text the party has not been contacted for comment.
done_all 5.5 marked as Compliant by Stephan Mündges.
Criteria 5.6
Proof you meet criteria
Please describe how you encourage users to send in claims to check, while making it clear what readers can legitimately expect will be fact-checked and what isn’t fact-checkable. Include links where appropriate. If you do not allow this, explain why.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
At the top of our website https://www.br.de/nachrichten/faktenfuchs-faktencheck,QzSIzl3 we tell our users: Contact us!
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/faktenfuchs-wir-sind-erreichbar,SRA7o7k
In this article we also explain, that we have a look at every text, link, picture or video that is sent to us, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do the research and write an article on every claim. Our editorial criteria play a role as well as our human resources and the question of whether the information is specific enough and can be verified or refuted using journalistic methods.
Section 6: A commitment to an Open & Honest Corrections Policy
To be compliant on corrections policy, applicants must meet these five criteria
- 6.1 The applicant has a corrections or complaints policy that is easily visible and accessible on the organization’s website or frequently referenced in broadcasts.
- 6.2 The policy sets out clear definitions of what it does and does not cover, how major mistakes, especially those requiring revised conclusions of a fact check, are handled, and the fact that some complaints may justify no response. This policy is adhered to scrupulously.
- 6.3 Where credible evidence is provided that the applicant has made a mistake worthy of correction, the applicant makes a correction openly and transparently, seeking as far as possible to ensure that users of the original see the correction and the corrected version.
- 6.4 The applicant, if an existing signatory, should either on its corrections/complaints page or on the page where it declares itself an IFCN signatory inform users that if they believe the signatory is violating the IFCN Code, they may inform the IFCN, with a link to the IFCN site.
- 6.5 If the applicant is the fact-checking unit of a media company, it is a requirement of signatory status that the parent media company has and adheres to an open and honest corrections policy.
Criteria 6.1
Proof you meet criteria
Please provide a link to where you publish on your website your corrections or complaints policy. If you are primarily a broadcaster, please provide evidence you frequently reference your corrections policy in broadcasts.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/br24-faktenfuchs-faktenchecker-wie-wir-arbeiten,ScNSHNZ (see paragraph "So korrigieren wir uns")
Criteria 6.2
Proof you meet criteria
The assessor will review the corrections policy to verify it meets critera. No additional information needed.
Criteria 6.3
Proof you meet criteria
Please provide a short statement about how the policy was adhered to over the previous year (or six months if this is the first application) including evidence of two examples of the responses provided by the applicant to a correction request over the previous year. Where no correction request has been made in the previous year, you must state this in your application, which will be publicly available in the assessment if your application is successful.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
Statement about how the corrections policy was adhered to over the previous year:
Whenever we receive a request to correct a detail or the conclusion of one of our articles, we check it. If something proves to be incorrect, we correct it and publish a disclaimer with the details about the correction beneath the article. In more important cases we additionally publish an entry in the corrections blog on the website of BR24: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/br24-korrekturen-und-was-fuer-uns-qualitaetsjournalismus-ist,RmilBWm.
We also respond to the request directly, mostly via e-mail, and inform on the correction - or, if nothing proved to be incorrect, inform about that. If the request is very vague we ask the sender to give us more details. If a request is insulting or simply an attack on the media in general, we don’t respond in every case. If a reader requests a different wording because he or she thinks that we left the realm of fact checking language and showed a tendency to opinion in our language, we also check on that, debate it in the team, correct ourselves if necessary and respond to the reader.
We provide primary sources or, if that is not possible, secondary sources whenever possible. If we see reasons to not provide links or name certain protagonists or sources, we make these reasons transparent.
Two examples of the responses to a correction request over the previous year (see disclaimer at the end of the articles):
Correction after request concerning: “#Faktenfuchs: Dienstwagenbesteuerung ist häufig Subvention": https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/dienstwagenbesteuerung-eine-subvention,TLq5PrO
Corrections after request concerning: "Faktenfuchs: Irreführende Behauptungen zu Hartz IV für Ukrainer": https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/faktenfuchs-irrefuehrende-behauptungen-zu-hartz-iv-fuer-ukrainer,TCgdtzy
Stephan Mündges Assessor
19-Sep-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
Overall compliant. However, in a review of a random sample of fact-checks, we encountered an instransparent correction. The disclaimer under the article https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/faktenfuchs-wie-verbreitet-sind-woelfe-in-bayern,TnqrKzv reads: "Disclaimer: Am 25.08.2023 um 11:15h wurde im Fazit ein Satz ergänzt." [a sentence in the conclusion was changed]. In the future, the applicant should be more precise in such disclaimers (i.e. state which sentence has been changed in what way) to ensure transparency of corrections.
done_all 6.3 marked as Compliant by Stephan Mündges.
Criteria 6.4
Proof you meet criteria
If you are an existing signatory, please provide a link to show where on your site you inform users that if they believe you are violating the IFCN Code, they may inform the IFCN of this, with a link to the complaints page on the IFCN site.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/br24-faktenfuchs-faktenchecker-wie-wir-arbeiten,ScNSHNZ (see paragraph: "Das sind unsere Standards")
Criteria 6.5
Proof you meet criteria
If you are the fact-checking unit of a media company, please provide a link to the parent media company’s honest and open corrections policy and provide evidence that it adheres to this.
Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR24 #Faktenfuchs
12-Jul-2023 (1 year ago) Updated: 1 year ago
This page shows an overview of the correction policy of BR24 and explains the understanding of quality journalism.
The BR is also by law committed to publish a rectification in case of false reporting. See the broadcasting law, article 17 ("Gegendarstellung"): https://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/BayRuFuG/true