https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/ then enter Foundation (Northern Ireland) (or company number NI068079)

Fact Check NI is a project of the charity Foundation Northern Ireland, which is registered as “A company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital) https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/NI068079

This is their latest (February 29, 2016) financial statement and report: https://goo.gl/GxSl5D

And these are their financial statements dating back to 2009 to current (https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/NI068079/filing-history)

You’ll find their various mandatory filings here: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/NI068079/filing-history

Besides FactCheck NI, there are several other non-profit projects that fall under Foundation (NI), including Shared Future, a forum of 129 “volunteer journalists” and Forum for Cities in Transition.

This from the latest (2015) annual report of Foundation (Northern Ireland).

NB: while they speak of FactCheck NI as still be to be launched at the time of this annual report, it was launched in April 2016.

“In July 2015 the Northern Ireland Foundation received a grant award from Building Change Trust to develop a digital fact-checking service for Northern Ireland, which will include a website for public use. This service is being developed in partnership with Transformative Connections (a social enterprise) with the Northern Ireland Foundation as lead organisation.

Knowledge was gained from other fact-checking organisations, including Full Fact (London) and the Poynter Institute (St Petersburg). A diverse and inclusive advisory panel was formed, which provided good guidance. The project was working to plan, with a scheduled launch for April 2016.”

See this too: https://northernireland.foundation/projects/factcheckni/

http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/

The latest fact-checks are published on FactCheck NI’s home page. Also on the home page are tabs linking to categorised fact-checks, like Brexit, Crime, Economy, Peace and other subjects http://www.factcheckni.org/

This is the link to all their fact-checked content page http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/

http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/

Latest fact-checks and tabs to linking to fact-checks by subject on home page http://www.factcheckni.org/

Dedicated fact-checks page http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/

Examples of fact-checks

Was funding cut for youth work? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/funding-cut-youth-work/

Are there really more Polish speakers than Irish speakers in Northern Ireland? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/thejournal-ie-really-polish-speakers-irish-speakers-northern-ireland/

Is Northern Ireland the happiest part of the UK? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/is-northern-ireland-the-happiest-part-of-the-uk/Do more residents want peace walls to stay? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/do-more-residents-want-peace-walls-to-stay/

Are foreigners a strain on the NHS in Northern Ireland? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/irish-citizens-financial-strain-nhs-northern-ireland/

Does Northern Ireland have a high teenage pregnancy rate? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/teenage-pregnancy-rise-northern-ireland/

Do half of freed criminals reoffend within a year? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/do-half-of-freed-criminals-reoffend-within-a-year/

Has Northern Ireland’s legislation caused an 80% rise in sex workers in Ireland? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/has-northern-irelands-legislation-caused-an-80-rise-in-prostitution-in-ireland/

Do almost 1% of people earn less than the minimum wage? http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/do-almost-1-of-people-earn-less-than-the-minimum-wage/

Has Sinn Fein Education Minister improved outcomes for the most disadvantaged?

http://www.factcheckni.org/facts/has-sinn-fein-education-minister-improved-outcomes-for-most-disadvantaged/

http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/

From FAQs: http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/

“What’s your bias?

We are acutely aware that in a contested place such as Northern Ireland, many people use a “telling process” to try to discover “which side” someone is coming from.

Everyone involved at FactCheckNI ‐‐ volunteers, interns, committee members, team managers and the board ‐‐ work under the fundamental principles of impartiality, transparency and accuracy.

Impartiality means that we cover claims across the political spectrum, without fear or favour. We check all sides, and provide the widest range of sources for a fact‐checked claim. Our final articles involve many participants in its creation, and thus we do not publish author by‐lines.”

Also from FAQs:

“Are you trying to tell if a politician is lying?

Lying means that someone purposefully intended to mislead someone else. That’s a hard case to prove, and that’s not what we do. (Even in Parliament, declaring a fellow member as liar is a serious accusation)

We are not trying to examine the intent behind a statement; rather, many of us are probably guilty of saying something inaccurate to another person or group, later relieved that it was likely forgotten. For politicians, in the media glaze and covering a wide range of topics, their mistakes are rapidly replayed across the airwaves and social media channels.

We believe that what is more important than catching a politician out is to present the additional perspectives and/or nuances of a claim. You can then decide how much a public representative is consistent with his or her facts.”

And;

We fact‐check claims for accuracy; we do not question the motivation or intent of the person or organisation making the claim. Our desire is to promote a political debate that is rooted in numbers and facts, rather than stereotypes and prejudice. We publish all of our fact‐checked claims, regardless if the result validates the claim or not.

See declarations in this blog http://www.factcheckni.org/blog/factcheckni-signs-international-fact-checking-code/

From FactCheck NI’s Code of Conduct on political affiliations (Code of Conduct attached to email sent with assessment)

“12. Declares to the Editor any real or potential conflict of interest, before or in the

course of undertaking any assignment;

13. Informs the Editor of outside engagement and duties of possible concern, e.g.

giving evidence in court, participating at public seminars or the like (whether as

chair, speaker, or panelist), employment that could conflict with writing/research

duties;

Membership or public association of a political party or social cause/movement, familial or other close personal or financial relationship in the scope of any assignment; none may disqualify, but non-disclosure is not defensible”

http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/

From FAQs (What’s your bias?) http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/

“What’s your bias?

We are acutely aware that in a contested place such as Northern Ireland, many people use a “telling process” to try to discover “which side” someone is coming from.

Everyone involved at FactCheckNI - volunteers, interns, committee members, team managers and the board - work under the fundamental principles of impartiality, transparency and accuracy.

Impartiality means that we cover claims across the political spectrum, without fear or favour. We check all sides, and provide the widest range of sources for a fact‐checked claim. Our final articles involve many participants in its creation, and thus we do not publish author by‐lines; you can review our project team here.

Transparency means that we will always attempt to contact the source of the claim. We provide links to sources (always public; never anonymous ones). You will be able to discover the source of our sources.

Accuracy means that we double‐check a fact‐checked claim with at least two people before publishing.” 

http://www.factcheckni.org/what-is-factcheckni/

This is an explanation supplied to me by Allan Leonard, the MD of Northern Ireland Foundation in response to my request for further detail on how FactCheck NI is funded. (see my recommendation to ensure that they are fully compliant)

“Northern Ireland Foundation is the lead organisation for the FactCheckNI project, in partnership with Transformative Connections. This project was launched with the financial support from Building Change Trust. (I have attached their Letter of Offer, which includes the budget for the project (p. 26).)

Total project costs over the 18-month period were about £85,000; Building Change Trust provided £60,000. (The difference absorbed by both the Northern Ireland Foundation and Transformative Connections.)

As for reporting, income is shown as a "Restricted Income" and expenses under categories of "Programme Costs" and "Overheads", as appropriate.

There are currently no other sources of income for the FactCheckNI project (less a small amount from a crowdfunding campaign, under £500).

Once the Building Change Trust funding expires, the Northern Ireland Foundation will continue with the FactCheckNI project, perhaps in a diminished capacity until further income is realised. A FactCheckNI Advisory Panel will remain and assist with this effort.”

From http://www.factcheckni.org/donate/

”The resources on this website are free to the public; we rely on donations to cover its costs. This project was made possible by a kind grant from Building Change Trust. But that money will be spent, and we wish to ensure the longevity of our work.

Some core costs will continue to be provided by the Northern Ireland Foundation, but only if we can ensure sustainability of this project.

This is where your individual gifts help us so much. Please do your part to improve the quality of public debate in Northern Ireland, with more critical thinking of what is said and heard, by donating to this transformative project:

Link to crowdfunding appeal: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-us-fact-check-the-ni-assembly-election-ae17

And this from “What is FactCheck NI? http://www.factcheckni.org/what-is-factcheckni/

FactCheckNI is one of a dozen projects awarded grant funding in 2015, from Building Change Trust and its Civic Activism Programme (2015‐2018), which aims to enable the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector to better facilitate meaningful participation of individuals and communities in decision‐making processes that impact upon their lives.

http://www.factcheckni.org/team/

Editorial team and Advisory Panel http://www.factcheckni.org/team/

This from: What is FactCheck NI? http://www.factcheckni.org/what-is-factcheckni/

http://www.factcheckni.org/contact/

http://www.factcheckni.org/contact/

http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/

Missing

http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/

From FAQs (http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/)

“What stuff do you fact-check?

Our focus at the start of this endeavour is to serve the community and voluntary sector in Northern Ireland, particularly in regards to encouraging civic activism. Thus, our topics of interest are those that affect them particularly, like crime, the economy, Europe, and the outworkings of the peace process.

We’ll fact‐check claims made by politicians and journalists, as well as popular myths (where we can substantiate them).

We are not yet able to fact‐check live events, major policy announcements (like a Government Budget), or election campaigns.

But our Media Monitors and Writers/Researchers are always working on our priority topics, so that we’re prepared for some of these rapid statements.”

And:

“How do I submit a fact-check“ (also in FAQs)

“Simply by emailing it to us: claim@factcheckni.org

We cannot promise to check every claim suggested but we do promise to read all suggestions. It would be helpful if you provide as much information as possible, such as date, source, and any particular reason why you’re skeptical of the claim.

We will then submit it to our editorial process. While we will acknowledge receipt of your submitted claim, we may not be able to reply how far we process it ‐‐ we cover several topics with varying turnaround times. Yet we welcome claims from the public for consideration.

And this on the website: We also offer a facility for individuals to submit claims for consideration, by email: claim@factcheckni.org

http://www.factcheckni.org/faqs/

From FactCheck NI application:

” Not applicable (no corrections requested or made to date).”

From FAQs: “Why should I accept anything you say?

“You shouldn’t. We provide source links, so you can see more for yourself and make up your own mind. Keep in mind that not everything is black and white and that’s part of the point for investigating a claim. If our fact‐checked claim doesn’t look right to you, please tell us: feedback@factcheckni.org

We’ll reply to your feedback and make it right. If we get it wrong, we’ll say so, publically.”

Also from FAQs: When we make mistakes, we correct them as quickly as possible, and allow viewers to easily see what we’ve corrected.”

Not applicable (no corrections requested or made to date).

Missing