The applicant is a legally registered organization and details of this are easily found on its website.

1. Ellinika Hoaxes was founded in 2013 as the first coordinated effort in Greece, to help combat the ever growing issue of misinformation. As of November 11 2018, Ellinika Hoaxes is registered as a civil non profit company.

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/about-us/

2. Ellinika Hoaxes has 9 editorial members, of whom 4 contribute voluntarily and 5 receive payment. Founder/Fact-Checker, two Senior Editors/Fact-Checkers and one Junior Editor/Fact-Checker do not receive payment. Editor in Chief and 4 Junior Editors/Fact Checkers receive payment. Ellinika Hoaxes also employ two social media handlers, one secretary and one translator. One IT technician occasionally contributes voluntarily.

3. Ellinika Hoaxes focuses solely to fact-checking and on rare occasions produce articles concerning information literacy.

4. Employing more fact-checkers to cover more fake news. Maintaining and establishing more partnerships with other fact-checking organizations and non-governmental institutions, foreign and domestic that focus in tackling the spread of disinformation.

The team, unit or organization is set up exclusively for the purpose of fact-checking.In addition it has a clearly defined editorial team with specific roles assigned that complement each other and are necessary  for their work

Attached spreadsheet for 26 selected fact checks from the past 6 months.

Required spreadsheets of links for the fact checks that the organisation has published in the three months prior to the date of application have been uploaded and meets the relevant criteria  (showing that the organisation has checked at least 13 claims in that time)

Following the analysis of the article presented, the organisation is compliant with the criteria set both in the number but also from the quality. The fact-checking process of the articles reviewed does not include biased wording  while factual reporting is very high and neutral. The organisation and fact checkers follow a specific  methodology of fact-checking,with well sourced evidence.

Received 11.000 euros in 2019, from EU Parliament via TjekDet. No other commercial, financial and/or institutional relationship to the state, politicians or political parties and political affiliated institutions in the country. No funding from foreign as well as local state or political actors in all the years of our activity. Such activities are strictly forbidden by our charter.

According to the Ellinika Hoaxes charter, organisation funding or support from foreign as well as local state or political actors are forbidden. The only funding received up until now is from EU Parliament  in 2019 via TjekDet Danish fact checking organisation

No such funding: https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/financing-indepedence/

Ellinika Hoaxes have not received funding or support  from foreign/local state/  political actors. The organisation provided a link on their website where it is clearly shown the editorial independence of their work.

For reasons of transparency, we have a dedicated page of all our political fact-checks for 2019, in chronological order, that can be found here: https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/politika-arthra-2019/

The aforementioned list contains 50 fact-checks that cover every major party in Greece, with special focus in the two most prominent. All relevant fact-checks are based on factual evidence and do not express personal opinion. Ellinika Hoaxes uses the same high standards of evidence and judgement for equivalent claims regardless of who made the claim. Every political fact-check is submitted by each author and is inspected for it's facts, consistency even terminology by the founder, the editor in chief and the senior editor, before publishing.

10 fact checks published over the past year submitted for political non-partisanship evaluation:

1. Fake quote used by former prime minister Antonis Samaras (Nea Dimokratia Party)

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/01/25/samaras-miteran-makedonia/

2. Fake frontpage of Avgi newsparer (SYRIZA Party)

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/01/09/avgi-frontpage-hoax/

3. Fake claim by MP (current minister) of Adonis Georgiadis (Nea Dimokratia Party)

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/02/01/tsipras-maldibes/

4. Fake claim that Nea Dimokratia Party asked controversial politician Kyriakos Velopoulos to join its ranks

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/02/16/nea-dimokratia-velopoulos/

5. List of hoaxes peddled by Nea Dimokratia Party MP Andreas Loverdos

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/02/23/loverdos/

6. Fake claims against an employee at former prime minister Tsipras's (SYRIZA Party) office

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/04/13/nantia-roumpou/

7. Fake claim about TV viewing numbers of Kyriakos Mitsotakis (current prime minister) interview

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/05/20/den-ekane-monopshfia-noumera-o-k-mhtsotakhs/

8. Fake claim about the wife of MP Nikos Voutsis (former president of the Hellenic Parliament - SYRIZA Party)

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/06/15/i-proin-syzygos-voutsi-den-einai-aderfi-tou-tsoutsouvi/

9. Doctored quotes of prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Nea Dimokratia Party)

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/06/20/video-mistotakis-den-eimaste-isoi/

10. Mayor awards paid from state money

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/10/07/kamposos-awards/

The applicant fact-checks using the same high standards of evidence and judgement for equivalent claims regardless of who made the claim. The methodology used is specific, claims are presented, analysed, facts are being reported factually with well sourced evidence.  As an example in the following fact checking  no 4 "Fake claim that Nea Dimokratia Party asked controversial politician Kyriakos Velopoulos to join its ranks" the fact checker surveyed people involved. Factual reporting is very high and neutral in every issue examined. The political fact-checking articles are transparent, easily accessible and in chronological order at : https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/politika-arthra-2019/

Ellinika Hoaxes should  further establish the editorial process, especially in the form of selection of articles and the rules applied. The current process is in total compliant with IFCN standards and requests but further elaborating it will contribute in achieving the organisation goals. 

Specific details explaining how claims are selected for fact-checking, how we ensure we do not unduly concentrate on any one side, and how we take into account the reach and importance of each claim, can be found here: https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/transparency-and-methodology/

Claims we select to check are prioritized according to reader requests, virality, impact, whether or not the claim in question can lead to intimidation and/pr physical harm by targeting individuals and/or specific groups of people, as well as conspiracy theories that permeate and have significant impact upon the Greek society (for example, various antisemitic conspiracy theories that are very popular in Greece, conspiracy theories about vaccines etc).

Ellinika Hoaxes has introduced a very interesting procedure that relies on a grass roots level approach by engaging the public opinion. On a weekly basis, they receive a few dozen to hundreds of requests to review news, either via messages or through their  webpage or in our Facebook group.Priority is given to proposal made by their readers, but also to the ones that are widespread and resonating, and the ones targeting specific individuals and sensitive social groups. Conspiracy theories are a priority topic since it is one of the most important sources of misinformation in Greece especially when it comes to health issues, e.g. vaccines. After the selection of the articles to be fact checked  a member undertakes the preliminary investigation and writes a draft of the facts, which will then be checked for any errors and omissions and published.Our investigation begins with (whenever possible) an attempt to contact the original source of the allegation. We also try to contact individuals and organizations who may know or have relevant expertise in this matter.

Ellinika Hoaxes meet the fact checking criteria, since a)there are no commercial or other such relationships that might lead someone to conclude that could influence their findings of the fact check.  In their fact-checking analysis, researchers doesn’t use loaded words  headlines match the story and regarding the source, they reports factually with well sourced evidence. Mostly they follow a two way process both by examining journalistic material but also relevant material such as the press release etc.Factual reporting is high while no political comments or affiliations are made. 

Following a review of the fact checks published over Ellinika Hoaxes meet the criteria set from IFCN.They have introduced specific practices that contribute in a high quality fact checking process. As an example will mention the following one which is characteristic of the work done:  There was a claim on May 2019 Title: “The interview of K. Mitsotakis had zero viewership”. the news item has appeared in many websites, newspapers and attracted a lot of attention as a claim ( avgi.gr, documentonews.gr, altsantiri.gr, olympia.gr, thefaq.gr, neaselida.gr, left.gr, periodista.gr etc). The Fact checker contacted the television measuring company, Nielsen,  confirmed the data etc . In the fact check analysis, the fact checker didn't use  loaded expressions, presented the facts from both sides while he documented his research with  well sourced evidence. In all the articles examined factual reporting is very high and with specific standards.

Ellinika Hoaxes  have a  dedicated page about non-partisanship and independence in their webpage that can be easily found meeting the transparency criteria:

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/financing-indepedence

Ellika Hoaxes document their fact checking process through provision of significant evidence that used in their fact checks. Relevant links are available online in a way that users can replicate/check their work if they wish. A relevant example is the following fact checked claim “Is it true that the media silenced Kyriakos Velopoulos?” About the article: The leader of  political party "Elliniki Lysi", Kyriakos Velopoulos,  has repeatedly claimed that mainstream media do not let his voice and political positions be heard. In the fact checking process several links of nationwide broadcast channels with speeches of Mr Velopoulos are presented. 

Following a  review of the applicant’s use of sources in a randomised sample of its fact checks Ellinika Hoaxes comply with the IFCN code. In their fact checking analysis/reports they use  well sourced evidence (photos, videos, statements, links to websites) while they report stories from both sides. Factual reporting is very high while all the claims are documented through relevant references to sources. 

Ellinika Hoaxes in their fact checking process  make extend use and references of sources, as it results from my randomised check of their fact checks. More specifically the sources used are available to readers while every claim that they make it is based on a well researched evidence that is accessible to the user and easily to understand.

Following a review of the applicant’s use of sources in a randomised sample of its fact checks there is a compliance with IFCN codes. There is an extended use of source, well documented claims with references that support the claims and the overall fact-checking process.

Financing and legal form

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/financing-indepedence/

Ellinika Hoaxes is an independent organization and is not a unit of a any media house or parent organization.

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/about-us/

Charter attached.

As it results from the charter attached and the financing and legal form Ellinika Hoaxes is an independent organization and is not part of a media house or parent organization.

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/about-us/

The organization is an “independent" one as it results from their charter and the link provided from their website. They detail their funding and indicate the legal form of the Organization as it is registered  (Non-profit). It it is not a fact-checking section or unit of a media house or other parent organization.

The organisational structure is clear and well explained. (Participants, roles etc).  Ellinika Hoaxes can provide a more detailed account regarding the hierarchy and the editorial roles of each member. While editorial procedure is explained in the following links, https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/transparency-and-methodology/, there is a need to explain these roles in the who are we section or in the above link.

Our dedicated page containing the names and resumes of all our members. You can access each individual resume, by clicking on the name:

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/who-are-we/

The link shared from the website includes  the professional biographies of those who play a significant part in the organization’s editorial output.

Ellinika Hoaxes website promotes transparency since the user can  easily navigate and also find the relevant information especially when it comes to contacting the editorial team, submitting a complaint, the editorial policy etc. In the  "who are we" section, users  can find cvs of the team members as well as their contact emails. In addition in the webpage at the section https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/contact-us/ users are encouraged to communicate/contact the Organisation and its members

Ellinika Hoaxes  publishes on its website a statement about the methodology it uses to select, research, write and publish its fact checks https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/transparency-and-methodology/. In the relevant section the methodology followed is presented in an explicit way with relevant documentation and references. 

Ellinika Hoaxes apply the following methodological steps in order to fact check claims :

Step 1:  Analyze the content

Step 2: Analysis of the  audiovisual material if and whenever is provided,

Step 3: Examination of scientific studies in cases of pseudoscientific claims

Group 4: Contact/Cooperation with other Fact checking groups whenever is needed. 

To make it easier for their readers, they use in several articles a series of characterisations (in bold coloured letters) at the beginning of each of their articles, to make it easier for the audience to understand the process and the results. These are:Truth, False, False Claim, Mixing Facts and Falsies, Danger, Pseudoscience, Like Farming, Clickbait. 

In the random sample that I have checked all these steps are applied in a coherent and systematic way. 

In the random sample that I have reviewed the methodology all the methodological steps  described in the relevant section are applied in a coherent and systematic way. At Ellinika Hoaxes  fact checks relevant evidence that appears to support the claim as well as relevant evidence that appears to undermine it are shown and clearly documented with references  for each case. 

Ellinika Hoaxes 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.The methodology described (content analysis, audiovisual analysis, etc ) are followed in all the articles that I have checked. There is a consistency on the analysis and the fact checking process. 

Ellinika Hoaxes 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. In addition they contact whenever that is possible the persons mentioned in the story in order to have both sides of the story

Users are encouraged to send claims to check in our "policy and participation" page, our "transparency and methodology" page, as well as our "contact us" page. Readers are informed about what to expect will be fact-checked and what isn’t fact-checkable in our "policy and participation" page, as well as in our "transparency and methodology" page.

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/correction-policy-and-participation/

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/transparency-and-methodology/

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/contact-us/

Users are encouraged to send claims to check at Ellinika Hoaxes "policy and participation" page, at "transparency and methodology" page, as well as their"contact us" page. Readers are informed about what to expect will be fact-checked and what isn’t fact-checkable in their "policy and participation" page, as well as in their "transparency and methodology" page.

Ellinika Hoaxes have a well and easy accessed link in their  website  for their  corrections or complaints policy. It complies with IFCN code while it promotes transparency of the organisation and the process that it follows. 

Ellinika Hoaxes have a well and easy accessed link in their website for their corrections or complaints policy. It complies with IFCN code while it promotes transparency of the organisation and the process that follows. In addition the policy to address the correction requests from senior editorial members contributes a lot in the transparency of the whole procedure.                                                                                                           

Each correction request was processed by the senior editorial team. Requests for corrections are promptly examined and decided after unanimous decision from the Founder, the Editor in Chief and the Senior Editor.

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/correction-policy-and-participation/

There was one correction for 2019 and one for 2020 The first one was applied after reader feedback. The initial claimants didn't reach out. The second correction was also precipitated after reader feedback. The initial claimant didn't request corrections. In both cases, a clear correction statement was made in the same fact-checks.

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2019/07/15/greek-politicians-jewish-ancestry-hoax/

https://www.ellinikahoaxes.gr/2020/01/13/abortion-claims-debunked/

Ellinika Hoaxes adhere to the correction policy. As it results from the documents provided there are a few correction requests, that have been addressed from the senior editorial team. This policy, complaints to be addressed from senior editorial members, helps the relevant policy while it address the claims on the right level and the necessary attention. As a result complies with IFCN standards.

Ellnika Hoaxes are  an existing signatory of the IFCN code. In their webpage there is a link through which users can contact/inform IFCN  in case that they  believe that  Ellinika Hoaxes are violating IFCN Code.

No parent media.

Ellinika Hoaxes are not a fact-checking unit of a media company.