Factly’s Fact-Check unit is a part of Factly Media & Research. Factly Media & Research is an independent organization working in the areas of Content Creation, building Information & Data Tools, Open Data Research & Consulting. Factly’s content can be divided into Data Journalism – Data Stories, Explainers, Fact- Checks (Debunking Fake News/Misinformation), Video Production, etc.

Fact-Checking is an important part of Factly’s work where we not only fact-check viral content that has a real-world impact but also work with platforms to address the growing menace of misinformation. The dedicated Fact-Checking project can be accessed from the main menu on the website. This application is for renewal since the validity of the earlier assessment is ending in February 2022.

Factly Media & Research is a for-profit firm registered in 2016 and is also registered with the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME). We generate revenue from partnerships with social media platforms, training & capacity building in the areas of ‘Data Journalism’ & ‘Fact-Checking’, and research & consulting services in the area of open data.

The certificate of registration is available on the about us page. (https://factly.in/about/) and is also uploaded here.

The applicant is a unit within a legally registered organization. Details about this are easily found on its website. 

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

Factly was launched in early 2016. In the early years, the focus was on simplifying public data & information and making it more meaningful to the common man, through data stories, policy explainers, explainer videos, etc. All the stories/content are based on official & factual information from government & public sources. During 2017, we began fact-checking to address the growing menace of misinformation which included both claims of important personalities & viral misinformation. Currently, we fact-check claims in the areas of politics, Health, Science, History, Policy, Data, Government Schemes, social issues, Major events, and statements made by those in public office. We also have a special focus on debunking misinformation related to government policy, data, fake government schemes that are aimed at defrauding people. 

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

Fourteen persons work in the fact-checking team across 3 different languages. A few of them are part-time. The team has fact-checkers, editors, a video producer, a video editor, and a designer. The profiles are provided on the fact-check team page. (https://factly.in/fact-check-team/)

3. What different activities does your organization carry out?

Factly works in the areas of Content Creation, building Technology Tools around public information & public data, Open Data Research & Consulting. Factly’s content can be divided into Data Journalism – Data Stories, Explainers, Fact- Checks (Debunking Fake News/Misinformation), Video Production, etc.

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

The following is the progress of the goals listed in our previous application

• The health microsite went live (www.health.factly.in) on our CMS. We also released one of its kind health misinformation report that maps misinformation in some of the important sectors in India. 
• The migration to our own custom-built CMS is work in progress
• Launched VidCheck, a tool for video fact-checking, which was developed with the support of an IFCN grant.
• We have expanded our tipline operations and received more messages than before.
  

For the coming year, the following are our goals in addition to our existing projects. 

• Launch an online self-paced training course on Fact-Checking in English 
• Launch an online self-paced training course on Fact-Checking in Telugu
  
• Continue process improvements to the fact-checking process

This team has been set up exclusively for fact-checking and is quite dedicated to it. It has launched its health microsite and has released a health misinformation report. 

Factly regularly does fact-checks on a wide variety of issues & topics in the areas of politics, Health, Science, History, Policy, Data, Government Schemes, social issues, major events, and statements made by those in public office. We publish more than 25 fact-checks per week on average and more than 100 fact-checks a month on a variety of issues. 

All our fact-check articles are available on a dedicated link that can be accessed from the main menu of the organization’s website. The articles are listed by date of publishing. The following are the links to the entire archive. We could provide a list in excel if required.

Fact-Checks in English: https://factly.in/category/english/

Fact-Checks In Telugu: https://factly.in/category/telugu/

Fact-Checks related to Government Policy, Data, Schemes, etc.: https://factly.in/category/fact-check/

Fact-Checks related to COVID-19: https://factly.in/category/coronavirus-english/

Dedicated Health Microsite: https://health.factly.in/

The applicant has published more than one fact check a week over the last year.

Almost all of our fact-checks are in the public interest. We will be happy to provide any additional information as may be required. 

Most of the fact checks conducted by the applicant are in the public interest. 

We have not received any funding from any political or foreign actor the previous financial year (2020-21). Our fact-check operations are independent and have no relationship with any state agency or political party. We have a strict non-partisanship policy (https://factly.in/non-partisanship-policy/) that bars any such association for fact-checkers.

During COVID-19, we partnered with the local public radio, local state government & other community radio stations to debunk misinformation related to COVID-19 for larger impact & amplification. This was done free of charge in the public interest and did not involve any finances. We also organize capacity-building workshops in debunking misinformation for a variety of stakeholders including students, civil society, media & state agencies, etc. These are also done free of charge.

One of the verticals in the organization works with academia & specific state agencies on evangelizing open data (to encourage the state to publish more data in the public domain). The partnership with state agencies for this work has no relation or impact on our fact-checking work and both are independent. Revenue from this vertical forms less than 1% of the overall revenues of the organization, and there is no financial dependence. 

The applicant’s work is not influenced by the state, a political party or a politician. The applicant’s parent organisation does some work for state agencies, related to data, but that is separate from its fact checking work.  

We do not receive funding from political sources, local or foreign. Our revenues are all based on the services we offer as a for-profit entity. 

The applicant states that it does not receive funding from local or foreign political sources. Its income is based on services it provides for a fee. 

We consistently make efforts to fact-check claims which are made by or about the government, by or about major politicians & political parties, claims made in general on government rules or policies/schemes, manipulated images/videos that can cause real-world harm, misinformation on miracle cure or health-related misinformation, misinformation that denigrates or glorifies well-known personalities, individuals, etc, misinformation in the areas of finance, technology among other things. We do around 100 fact checks every month as listed in the links above on a wide variety of topics.

We have a detailed methodology that is meticulously followed for every fact check. The sources used for fact-checking are government sources and other credible sources. Each of the sources/evidence is hyperlinked in the fact check. The rating methodology is also standardized as explained in detail in the methodology. (https://factly.in/factchecking-methodology/)

To fact-check claims and represent data in easily understandable formats, we use charts, tables, illustrations, etc. The methodology & sources are consistent across all our articles on diverse claims. The following is a list of recent fact-checks that demonstrate our non-partisanship and the variety of topics we cover

1. The UN never recognised Abdul Kalam’s birthday as World Students’ Day

2. Central government retains 98.3% of Central Excise duty, whereas the remaining 1.7% is distributed among the states

3. Luc Montagnier did not claim that vaccinated people will die in 2 years

4. WHO has not approved any breathing exercise to diagnose the COVID-19 virus

5. This claim that Somalia bananas have a worm called Helicobacter which will cause brain death in 12 hours, is not true

6. Old unrelated video portrayed as Israel army’s attack on a Palestinian Mosque

7. Animation video of a man spinning along with a helicopter rotor is passed off as real

8. No, the Muslim community did not admit in the court that spitting on food is part of halal practice

9. Bhagat Singh took legal advice from Lala Duni Chand; An RSS associate did not represent the British in the trial

10. Old image of an English cricketer is morphed so as to look like Swami Vivekananda bowling in a cricket match

Below is a list of fact-checks in the Telugu Language

1. 2009-14 మధ్య కూడా రైల్వే బడ్జెట్ లో తెలంగాణ ప్రాంతానికి కేటాయింపులు జరిగాయి

2. అమెరికాలో నిర్మించిన ప్రత్యేక కోవిడ్-19 ఆసుపత్రుల ఫోటోలని తెలంగాణలో ఏర్పాటు చేసిన కోవిడ్ సెంటర్లని షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు

3. టీ, బిస్కెట్ల కోసం 8 కోట్లు ఖర్చు చేసినట్టుగా చెప్తున్నది తెలంగాణ ప్రభుత్వం, ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ ప్రభుత్వం కాదు

4. కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీ తమ 2018 తెలంగాణ ఎన్నికల మేనిఫెస్టోలో ముస్లింల కోసం ప్రత్యేక ప్రభుత్వ ఆసుపత్రులని నిర్మిస్తామని ప్రకటించలేదు

5. బీహార్ పాఠశాలలో తీసిన మధ్యాహ్న భోజన పథకం ఫోటోని ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ లోని జగన్ ప్రభుత్వానికి ముడిపెడుతున్నారు

6. ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ లో కలెక్టర్ కార్యాలయాల్లో చలానా కట్టి రెమెడెసివిర్ ఇంజక్షన్ పొందవచ్చన్న వార్తల్లో నిజం లేదు

7. ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ రాష్ట్ర అప్పులు FRBM పరిమితులను దాటినప్పటికీ, అప్పులకు సంబంధించి ఈ వివరాలు మాత్రం కరెక్ట్ కాదు

8. కేంద్ర ప్రభుత్వ సెంట్రల్లీ స్పాన్సర్డ్ స్కీం కింద తెలంగాణలో మెడికల్ కాలేజీలకు ఇప్పటి వరకు నిధులు మంజూరు కాలేదు

9. ‘దేశంలోనే ‘లవ్ జిహాద్’ లో తెలంగాణ టాప్’ అంటూ ఇచ్చిన ఈ అంకెలకి ఎటువంటి అధికారిక ఆధారాలు లేవు

10. హుజూరాబాద్ పోలీసుల తనిఖీల్లో ఈటల రాజేందర్ అనుచరుని వద్ద 12 కోట్లు లభ్యమయ్యాయన్న వార్తలో నిజం లేదు

11. నిర్మల్ బహిరంగ సభలో జాతీయ గీతం పాడుతున్నప్పుడు బీజేపీ నాయకులు అరవింద్, జితేందర్ రెడ్డి జాతీయ జెండాకు సెల్యూట్ చేసారు

12. 75వ స్వాతంత్య్ర దినోత్సవ వేడుకలలో తెలంగాణ హోంమంత్రి, నల్గొండ జిల్లా కలెక్టర్ కూడా జాతీయ జెండాకు సెల్యూట్ చేసారు

The applicant uses the same standards of evidence for similar claims, regardless of who made the claims. 

As an organization, we remain committed to objectivity and non-partisanship. Our clearly laid down methodology ensures that objectivity remains the cornerstone of every fact-check. The methodology is explained in detail here (https://factly.in/factchecking-methodology/)

It considers the reach and importance of the claims it selects to check and makes a statement about this on its website. 

There have been no instances of conflict of interest and hence no such disclosure.

The applicant makes it sources very clear so that readers are in no doubt about who they are what their affiliations might be. 

We have a strict non-partisanship policy (https://factly.in/non-partisanship-policy/)

The applicant is not affiliated to any political party and does not advocate for or against any policy decisions.

Every employee of Factly is briefed at the time of joining about our non-partisanship policy. A document with this effect is also signed at the time of joining (https://factly.in/non-partisanship-policy/). One such agreement signed with an employee is attached.

Its non-partisanship policy is set out on its website and staff are issued a letter explaining the policy at the time of joining the organization.

Each & every Fact-Check contains hyperlinks to the public (government) data sources or links to documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) or links to relevant news stories, images, or videos, all from credible sources. For fact-checking claims related to political leaders & government, Factly uses only public (government) data/information for the purpose of fact-checking. We do not use data/information from any private source (except for global & respected multilateral organizations) for such fact checks.

The source of the 'claim' is also hyperlinked (like a press release, a relevant government website, relevant social media message, news story, video, etc). We also reach out to relevant government officials, public representatives, etc. if there is a need to establish the claim. These sources are adequate for any reader to fact-check the claim themselves. The detailed methodology is on the website.

All sources are clearly identified, with appropriate links provided. Readers can easily replicate fact checks. 

The applicant mainly uses primary sources, but has made use of secondary sources, including other fact-checking organisations.

The applicant checks most elements of claims with more than one source, usually. 

No such instance. 

The applicant identifies its sources clearly. This helps the reader know the interests of the sources.

Factly is an independent registered for-profit organization & the Fact-Checking unit is part of this larger for-profit entity. All the details are in the ‘About Us’ page (https://factly.in/about/). The official registration certificate of the organization is also on this page. Names of each source of funding accounting for 5% or more of total revenue for its previous financial year (2020-21) are also listed on this page. (https://factly.in/about/).

The fact-checking unit is part of a larger organization that deals with data journalism as well as with fact-checking. Its revenues come from consulting services in these areas. These revenues have been listed on its website, as has the legal form under which the company has been registered—as a for-profit firm with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). 

Please refer to (https://factly.in/about/) for details of our legal entity and funding

The applicant is a unit of a larger organization and makes its ownership clear. 

The organisation is run by the founder & Chief Editor, Rakesh Dubbudu and the fact-check team is led by Editor Bharat Guniganti. The names of the team members including its editors are listed on the team page. The editorial control is exercised by the Chief Editor Rakesh Dubbudu & Editor Bharath Guniganti, as explained in the methodology section.

Team Page - https://factly.in/fact-check-team/

Methodology - https://factly.in/factchecking-methodology/

The applicant’s organizational structure is laid out on the website and makes it clear how editorial control is exercised and by whom. 

https://factly.in/fact-check-team/

Professional biographies of all personnel who play a significant role in its output are listed clearly. 

The page has a dedicated e-mail ID which is directly accessed by the editors and also a WhatsApp helpline number where readers can get in touch and also submit claims

https://factly.in/contact/

It really does not seem easy to get in touch with the editorial team. However, the website does have a Contact Us page. 

The methodology can be accessed from the About Us section on the main menu

https://factly.in/factchecking-methodology/

The methodology used by the applicant is clearly mentioned, in detail on its website. It explains how claims are selected, researched, and how the fact checks are written and published. 

The applicant selects claims to check based on their importance and relevance and usually explains why a claim has been selected. 

In its fact checks, the applicant puts out evidence that appears to support the claim, as well as that appears to undermine it. 

It assesses the merits of the evidence based on the same standards for equivalent claims, regardless of who made the claim. 

The applicant, where possible contacts the person who made the claim in order to seek evidence. 

Users have multiple options to reach out to us with claims they would like us to fact-check. We have a WhatsApp helpline (+91 92470 52470), the link to which is available at the end of every fact-check. We also have a dedicated e-mail ID to which users can share their claims to be fact-checked.

Users can also contact us by filling out the form on the following page. We also encourage readers to reach us on Facebook Page or Twitter Handle all of which are detailed on the following page.

https://factly.in/contact/

The applicant encourages users to send in claims to check; it makes it quite clear, in its methodology, what will be fact-checked and what might not be.

The corrections policy is listed on the corrections page (https://factly.in/corrections-policy/) with details of a dedicated email. 

The applicant’s correction policy is easily accessible on its website. 

https://factly.in/corrections-policy/

The policy sets out what it covers and what it does not and the applicant seems to have adhered to it largely. 

We have not received any correction requests in the last 12 months. However, the following are a few fact-checks where we have included updates. Updates are made when additional information is available, or when data or information changes. These are not corrections, but updates intended to inform users of the latest developments.

So far, the applicant has not had to make any major corrections, but has added updates to some stories. In these cases, the applicant makes the update very clear and distinct from the original article. 

We have linked it on the corrections policy page informing users about the complaints page on the IFCN website (https://factly.in/corrections-policy/)

The applicant is an existing signatory with the IFCN. Its correction policy contains a link to the Complaints Policy page of the IFCN. 

The earlier corrections policy is applicable to the entire organization. (https://factly.in/corrections-policy/)

The entire organization adheres to the corrections policy.