Faktoje is registered with the court authorities as of July of 2019 and operates as an independent, non-governmental media organization. This information is published on the website of Faktoje, under the “About us” category, in the sections “Who we are” and “How we work”, and is accessible by everyone. It fully complies with Criteria 1.1 because it demonstrates that we are a legally registered organization and these details are found very easily on our website, in the links below.

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/

The applicant is a legally registered entity and this information is available in their website. The original document of registration has been shown to me after my request in their first application at IFCN.  

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

Faktoje is the first fact-checking organization in Albania and was established in May of 2018 with the purpose to promote the accountability of high public officials and subject the benefit from public funds, through the right to information and transparency. Faktoje aims to improve the public standards of performance in Albania, set an example of responsible and ethical journalism, and stand at the forefront of the fight against fake news and disinformation in Albania.

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

 Faktoje has a staff of 9 employees and 1 interns. Faktoje’s staff consists of: an Executive Director, a Finance Officer, an Editor in Chief, an Editorial Manager, 4 journalists, 5 external experts, 5 intern journalists, 1 driver, and 1 cleaning maid.

Faktoje also has a network of 15 local journalists which was created as a result of our workshops and projects to raise the accountability of local governments, who collaborate with Faktoje on different stories, topics, or projects.

3. What different activities does your organization carry out?

Faktoje is engaged in different activities which present and increase the visibility of our work, but also solidify Faktoje' s position as a promotor of the fight against disinformation. We organize conferences with stakeholders for major issues like the reconstruction process after the 26 November 2019 earthquake in Albania, the pandemic, and the accountability of high public officials. Faktoje has also organized carried out workshops for students and local journalists regarding our methodology and its possible application in the cities where these journalists work. An important part of Faktoje' s work as a promotor in the fight against disinformation are the workshops on this topic, and also workshops about fact-checking and media literacy with students, local journalists, and regional journalists. Faktoje developed fact-checking modules for the . Also, we built a database about the reconstruction process.

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

For the upcoming year, Faktoje aims to continue the course of Fact checking and  workshops and training sessions in the Department of Journalism at the University of Tirana, young journalists and local journalists. Our aim is to raise capacities of this community on fact checking journalism, and raise awareness of the public about fake news and disinformation. Also, through the application of the Law on the Right of Information we will insist promoting accountability and transparency in public institutions. Faktoje will continue to be involved closely in campaigns to raise the awareness of public officials in local governments, more specifically in 15 municipalities regarding the fulfillment of electoral promises and transparency of municipal councils. On the other hand, Faktoje is working with two reports on recovery of the earthquake in Albania "Follow the money" and for the second year we are going to publish a report on the transparency of the 15 municipalities in Albania. We are going to covered the issue on Covid 19, environment, recovery of the earthquake, and the election promises in Albania. For the first time we are going to train the pupil in the high school about fact checking and disinformation. We are going to do more than 12 workshops with the coordinators of the right of information in the main public institution to increase the transparence and enhance   the collaboration between us, We are going to work for several videos and quiz to raise awareness towards disinformation and fake news.   

The applicant has provided enough explanation with regard to the history, scope of work, activities and the number of people involved. Judging from the information that is available to the public and the information shared here, we can conclude that the applicant has enough human resources to carry out fact checking activities. 

Faktoje is the only known fact-checking organization in Albania, and also the only organization which is a signatory member of IFCN. During the last 6 and a half months we have published at least 120 fact-checks, with an average of at least 4 fact-checks per week. All our fact-checking stories are public and accessible through our webpage www.faktoje.al.

Judging from the range of stories published in their website, the applicant has exceeded the required minimum of at least one fact check per week. In one particular month, the applicant has published 21 fact checks in total. Therefore, the applicant is constantly publishing fact checks.   

The applicant has published fact checks that have a direct impact on the society. A random check of the published articles, shows that the majority of topics selected for verification are of major concern for the public and the society. Some of these topics/public promises that were verified include news about coronavirus vaccines, bird flue, oil prices, earthquake rebuilt, as well as other issues like education, social welfare and tourism. 

Faktoje does not have any kind of commercial, financial, and/or institutional relationship with the state, politicians, political parties in our country or region, which are the areas our fact-checking stories cover.

During the previous financial year, Faktoje has been funded by different foreign institutions or organizations, specifically the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, the British Embassy in Tirana, the American organization National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Embassy of Netherlands , Irex, OSCE, European Union in Albania. We are also founded by Eu in a regional project, part of ADNB .We don’t cover in our fact checks any of the countries that the mentioned institutions represent, or in which the organization (NED) is based.

The applicant has a separate section in their website regarding the sources of income, where they have listed the donors for 2022, that include among others MATRA, IREX and EU. They have also published the Audit report for previous years. There is no indication that the applicant has received funding from the state and political parties from the country where they operate. 

In the section “How we are funded” which is listed under “How we work”, we specify that Faktoje is transparent with the financial resources and we state that if we accept funds from other institutions, we make sure that the donors don’t have influence in the conclusions of our reports or fact-checking stories. In this section, we have also listed the main donors from which we are financed.

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Si%20financohemi 

There is a link in their website that shows how the applicant is funded as well as a link that provides information about the code of ethics and being unbiased in their reporting. 

List of 10 fact checks:

1. https://faktoje.al/balluku-by-passi-i-vlores-hapet-ne-menyre-provizore-per-kalimin-e-mjeteve-me-15-korrik/

2. https://faktoje.al/veliaj-do-kalojme-ne-regjim-te-punes-me-dy-turne-per-rijetesimin-e-piramides/

3. https://faktoje.al/vokshi-qeveria-rimbursoi-vetem-40-dollare-per-nje-te-semure-me-covid-199/

4. https://faktoje.al/ahmetaj-shkolla-dhe-kopshti-korb-muca-fushe-kruje-gati-ne-korrik1/

5. https://faktoje.al/a-perfunduan-punimet-per-aksin-sinanaj-dukaj-qe-lidh-tepelenen-me-vloren/

6. https://faktoje.al/rama-britania-ka-bere-plan-per-kufizimin-e-energjise/

7. https://faktoje.al/vokshi-ka-mesues-qe-sduhet-ta-bejne-vaksinen-por-detyrohen-se-nuk-perballojne-kostot-e-testit-pcr/

8. https://faktoje.al/manastirliu-e-kemi-vendosur-te-arrijme-1-milion-vaksinime-brenda-muajit-qershor/

9. https://faktoje.al/viti-i-ri-i-gjen-jashte-banesave-te-reja-banoret-e-thumanes-dhe-bubqit/

10.  https://faktoje.al/5-afate-te-shkelura-ne-thesin-e-premtimeve-te-bashkise-per-kopshtit-zoologjik/

Faktoje selects, based on its mission, claims of public officials about how the money of taxpayers is being spent and if the promises about projects of public impact are kept. These 10 claims that we listed, were selected based not on the political affiliation of the person that made the claim but based on the impact these claims have in the public. In the 10 fact-checking articles, we have included for the same official or political party, a claim that was categorized as True, when the fact-checking process has concluded that they indeed told the truth, or False when we arrived at the respective conclusion after the fact-checking process. This testifies the impartiality of Faktoje in selecting claims and also shows that Faktoje is in line with the criteria that focus on the direct interest of the public. We have fact-checked claims from 3 Ministers, Infrastructure, Minister of Reconstruction, minister of public Health, the Prime minister, the major of Tirana, and officials of the opposition, about issues of the highest priorities such as the pandemic or the reconstruction process after the 26 November 2019 earthquake in Albania, which still remain the priorities of the country. This shows the inclusion of all political actors, parties, and political wings in our fact-checking stories, without favoring or excluding anyone from our mission as a fact-checking service.

On the other hand, the application of the methodology led us to refer to different sources to arrive at our conclusions, especially consulting with independent experts of a high level, in order to arrive at an accurate categorization of claims. Below we have listed three briefly explained examples:

1.https://faktoje.al/vokshi-qeveria-rimbursoi-vetem-40-dollare-per-nje-te-semure-me-covid-199/

The selected statement belongs to one of the Democratic Party officials, who claims that the government reimbursed an average of $ 40 for a covid patient, although patients in this category prove that the cost of anti-covid treatment is several times more expensive. Pursuant to the fact-checking methodology, Faktoje made a verification using the right to information and requested official information from the public health authorities and then addressed a medical expert. From the research of these sources, it was confirmed that the statement of Mrs. Vokshi was based on accurate data and was categorized as True.

https://faktoje.al/vokshi-ka-mesues-qe-sduhet-ta-bejne-vaksinen-por-detyrohen-se-nuk-perballojne-kostot-e-testit-pcr/

For the same opposition official, Faktoje selected a statement regarding the management of the covid situation, which had to do directly with the category of teachers. The PD official claimed that even the teachers who due to health problems were not advised to get the vaccine, were being forced by the authorities to get it because they could not afford the cost of the PCR test. Even for this statement, Faktoje, using the fact-checking methodology referred to both official sources, through the request for information and the interest groups. From the research and the information we managed to collect, it resulted that the statement of Mrs. Vokshi was False.

 2.https://faktoje.al/balluku-by-passi-i-vlores-hapet-ne-menyre-provizore-per-kalimin-e-mjeteve-me-15-korrik/

The selected statement belongs to the Minister of Infrastructure Belinda Balluku, who promised that on July 15, 2021, the segment in the south of Albania would be temporarily opened, to ease the heavy traffic due to road works, at the peak of the tourist season. This statement had a major public impact, as at that time most citizens were planning vacations in the south. The statement, in this case, was one of those types to be verified in the field, so on the date promised by the Minister, the journalists went and verified for themselves if the segment was functional. The verification showed that the Minister's commitment had been fulfilled.

https://faktoje.al/a-perfunduan-punimet-per-aksin-sinanaj-dukaj-qe-lidh-tepelenen-me-vloren/

Faktoje selected another commitment of the government that had promised the completion of another road of major importance in the autumn of 2021, to facilitate traffic during the tourist season in southern Albania. But this time it was the prime minister who through a video posted on social networks claimed that the project for the road in question was over. Faktoje made a comprehensive verification in the application of the fact-checking methodology, first by verifying in the field, that some parts of the road were left unfinished. After that, Faktoje did research on official documents and institutions, which led us to the conclusion that the promise was not kept and even the post of the Prime Minister was mis-informative. One of the sources that influenced the categorization as an Unkept promise was the Ministry of Infrastructure itself, which informed that the road would be completed within the next year.

3. https://faktoje.al/ahmetaj-shkolla-dhe-kopshti-korb-muca-fushe-kruje-gati-ne-korrik1/

The selected statement belongs to the Minister of Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj and is related to one of the main issues of the country, the tragic earthquake of November 26, 2019. The Minister had promised the reconstruction within the summer of 2021, of a school in one of the areas most affected by the earthquake. This statement was also essential for the on-site verification and confirmation by the employees who followed the implementation of the project. These verifications led to the categorization of the promise as Kept.

https://faktoje.al/viti-i-ri-i-gjen-jashte-banesave-te-reja-banoret-e-thumanes-dhe-bubqit/

At the end of 2021, Faktoje verified another government statement on the issue with the major impact of housing reconstruction after the November 26, 2019 earthquake, in the municipalities affected by the consequences of the earthquake. The government had promised that most residents would be in new homes for the holiday season. Faktoje, pursuant to the fact-checking methodology, conducted on-site inspections, sent a request for information and received evidence from stakeholders, residents waiting to be housed in these dwellings by 31 December 2021. The collection and analysis of these sources led to the categorization of the statement as Unreal, as in the new homes practically only a very small number of residents entered for the holidays.

All the above examples show that the promises and statements selected for fact checking were made on the basis of public interest and uninfluenced by political affiliation. 

The sample of ten fact checks provided by the applicant shows a variety of topics covered, a variety of political parties under scrutiny as well as a variety of locations. Each article has enough evidence to argue the case and to dictate the conclusion. Overall, the same high standards are applied in all fact checks and the same essential process that been followed. It is easy to see that the applicant has tackled the current problems in the Albanian society such as energy, education, poverty, road infrastructure and so on. 

Faktoje explains clearly the standardized methodology of work that it applies, where the process of claims selection is at the very top of this methodology, which can be found by our audience under the “About us” category, in the “Methodology” section within “How we work”. We select claims of all the actors of the political scene and interest groups, based on the importance of the issue and the interest of the public.

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Metodologjia 

The link is available in their website. It shows how the applicant select claims to check as well as the methodology followed to do the fact checking. The sample provided under Criteria 2.1 shows that the applicant does not intentionally concentrate their fact checks on one side only. There is a balanced reporting in all of these samples.  

A random review of the fact checks published over the previous year show that the evidence provided by the applicant is not biased and the reader can come to conclusion regarding the story based on all evidence provided. 

There is no evidence to show that the applicant is affiliated or shows support to a particular political party or organization. A review of previous fact checks published here show that almost all major political parties have been under the scrutiny of fact checking, as well as different levels of government, such as central government, local self-government as well as different cabinet ministers. 

Faktoje is an organization that does not engage in political activities and the selection of claims to fact check is done based on the influence these promises of politicians, public officials, or subjects that benefit from public funds, have in the life of the citizens. None of our team members are affiliated with any political party or organization. From its foundation onwards, current and future staffers of “Faktoje” are required not to engage with political activities.

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Depolitizimi,%20angazhimi%20p%C3%ABr%20paan%C3%ABsi%20dhe%20ndershm%C3%ABri

The applicant has provided a link in their website that show their strict 'non-political' affiliation policy for its staff members. There is no evidence that would suggest that any of its members are politically affiliated. 

The applicant provides evidence in their fact checks in a variety of formats. Links to the original source as well as to the evidence are in every article. Moreover, screenshots of evidence, such as Facebook comments by decision makers are quite present. In addition, evidence is also presented in the format of excel photos, photo from the field, video links as well as links to previous fact checks. Overall, the amount of evidence provided in every article is enough for the reader to come to his/her onw conclusion. 

In most cases, the applicant goes for primary sources to provide the evidence. This includes direct links to the original statement made by the public official as well as hard evidence in refuting such claim. The latter usually comes in the format of screenshot of evidence (document, excel, graphs).  

Overall there is a mix of sources provided in the fact checks. Typically fact checks published by the applicant are long, and that provides enough space for background information, evidence explanation and conclusion. This format allows the applicant to use more both primary and secondary sources in its fact checks. 

The evidence provide by the applicant, especially in the format of video links, makes it easy for the audience to understand the context of the story. 

Faktoje is an independent non-profit organization. Please find attached the decision of the Court of Tirana, which confirms that Faktoje is established as a non-profit organization.

The applicant has shared a legal document that shows its legal status as an independent non-profit organization registered in Albania. The same statement is also published in their website in the "about us" section.  

In the website of Faktoje, under the “About us” category, in the page "How we work", in the section "A brief bio of Faktoje" we explain that Faktoje is registered with the court authorities as of July of 2019, and operates as an independent, non-governmental media organization. On the same page, "How we work", in the section "How we are funded" we detail that we are transparent with our funding, we ensure that the donors don't influence our conclusions and fact-checking stories and we also list the organizations or entities that are currently funding us.

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Historik%20i%20shkurt%C3%ABr%20i%20%E2%80%9CFaktoje-s%E2%80%9D

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Si%20financohemi

The website section "About us" provides information about the mission of the organization as a non-profit registered entity. Furthermore, the funding section in the website also provides information about the current and past donors of this organization. The same section contains Audit reports, which provide all the income and expenses for the previous fiscal year. 

Faktoje is composed of the Board of Faktoje and the Editorial Team of Faktoje. The Board of Faktoje is composed of 6 members with different backgrounds from different fields. They are not affiliated with any political party. One of the main responsibilities of the board is to preserve the independence of Faktoje from external interventions and guarantee its transparency. The Editorial Team of Faktoje is composed by :

-The Executive Director, who is responsible for the editorial direction of Faktoje,

-The Editor in Chief who, by working closely with the journalists, ensures the claims selected are in line with the principles of Faktoje and the methodology is being applied correctly

-Editorial Manager is working closely with the editor in chief and the director to manage the project and the tasks required for each of them in line with our code of conduct, methodology and our internal policy.   

-The journalists, who apply the methodology of Faktoje scrupulously in the process of fact-checking

https://faktoje.al/bordi/

https://faktoje.al/stafi/

The organizational structure is shown in the website. There is a specific section showing the organizational structure, the names of the people involved and their editorial role. Moreover, this section provides the biographies of all staff involved in this project. 

In the links shared for Criteria 4.3, the professional biographies of all those who play a significant part in Faktoje's editorial output are also included. Mainly on the page dedicated to the Editorial Team of Faktoje, which you can find in the link below.

https://faktoje.al/stafi/

The professional biographies are shared in the website under the "Editorial team" section. 

It is very important for Faktoje to be easily accessible by the audience and to have an open bridge of communication with them. For this reason, in the bottom right corner of our website, we have a section entitled "Contact Us", where we display our e-mail address, our mobile phone, and our physical address and we respond to phone calls, e-mails, or messages on our social media at all times.

https://faktoje.al/

The applicant has a specific section called "Contact us", where users are provided with a variety of options to contact the organization. Office address, phone numbers and social media addresses are all available under this section. 

Faktoje is completely transparent with the audience, detailing the entire process of fact-checking, starting with how we select the claims to fact check and continuing with the methodology we apply. We directly contact the politician who made a specific claim or promise, we address public institutions, research what other media found, use google search techniques, do in-field verification, contact experts of the respective fields, and then we research again. Every step we follow is described in detail in the "Methodology" section of "How we work", which you can find in the link below.

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Metodologjia

The methodology section is available in the website. It shows to the public how the organization selects claims, what research methods are used to very claims, and what categories are used to label them i.e. from untrue statements to true statements. 

A random sample of claims shows that the applicant chooses the topics that are relevant and timely. Most topics are of current debates, that would generate a lot of internet traffic for the organization. In some cases, there is an explanation of why certain claim has been selected for fact check. 

There is evidence in all fact checks published by the applicant. Usually the evidence is associated with explanatory text, which makes it easier for the audience to understand the relevance of using such evidence. "The other side" of the story is often included in these fact checks, where the view of the party involved is published. 

The same standards of using evidence appear to be used in all fact checks, regardless who made the claim. Most fact checks are about claims from people in power, however, other relevant people and institutions are also target of such claims. 

Almost all fact checks published by the applicant use hyperlinks that direct you to the source of claim and information. The standard of fact checks here is include as many alternative evidence as possible, such as video, photo, official documents and so on. 

Faktoje values of great importance the input and engagement of our audience. We have created a dedicated space in our website for this purpose, with significant visibility on the top right corner of our website, entitled "Fact-check Too". There the audience can directly contact us and share with us claims or promises they find suspicious, untrue, or unkept, which we ensure to follow and fact-check. They can also their denouncements for violations, messages, or suggestions as we explain in the second link below.

https://faktoje.al/

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Fakto%20edhe%20ti!

We explain how we select claims which can be fact-checked in "The Selection Process" which can be found on top of our "Methodology" section in the "How we work" page, under the "About us" category. Please visit the link below.

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Metodologjia

There is a direct link for the audience to use when they want to share with the applicant. This is done under the link "Fact check you too". In this case, the audience has the option to remain anonymous or have their name be published. 

On the "How we work" page, we have a section entitled "How we correct mistakes". Here we list different kinds of corrections and briefly explain how we make these corrections. Corrections may include changing the rating of a claim, based on our rating system, correcting grammatical errors, and also updates, which are not errors but remain a change in the original article for which we notify our audience. More details are provided in the link below.

https://faktoje.al/si-punojme-ne/#Si%20i%20korrigjojm%C3%AB%20gabimet%20tona

There is a specific link that leads to the correction policy. That section provides details how mistakes are corrected and how claims are updated with new evidence and information. It also shows how the public can identify corrected claims. 

There is enough information from the applicant's website on what stories are fact checks and what is not covered in its fact checks. The correction policy also shows how articles can change based on new evidence. 

Faktoje did not receive a single complaint or correction request, during the previous year, which can be verified through the link below.  

https://faktoje.al/category/ankesa-korrigjime/

There is only one story that was corrected throughout 2021. In that story it is clear to show which information has been changed due to new evidence provided after the publication of the article. 

Faktoje is a signatory member of IFCN since January the 20th of 2020. As such, we have created a dedicated space in our website where not only we inform that we adhere to the IFCN code of principles, but also we have placed a link connecting to the IFCN complaints policy where our audience can inform IFCN about a potential violation on our part.

https://faktoje.al/njihuni-me-ne/ifcn/ 

There is a specific section in the website called IFCN, which provides information about IFCN. Users are also informed how they can reach IFCN if they find that the code of ethics has been violated. This statemen has a link that leads to IFCN complains page. 

We are not the fact-checking unit of a media company, but an independent fact-checking organization.

The applicant is an independent fact-checking organization with no parent media company.