Istinomjer is a fact-checking project developed by the Civic Association "Why not" (Udruženje građana “Zašto ne”), as specified in our “About” page: https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/ 

Civic Association "Why not?" (Udruženje građana "Zašto ne") is a legal entity registered in the Register of Civic Associations within the Ministry of Justice of FBiH on January 9th 2001 under No. 56, Book 1 of the Register, with registration number 03-054-992/97-2.

Decision on the Registration along with the Statute of the organization is attached in the application.

https://zastone.ba/en/programs/responsible-government/istinomjer/

Istinomjer is a fact-checking project established by Zasto ne (Why not) Civic Association, which is a legally registered entity. Details about Istinomjer could easily be found on their website and the one belonging to their founder.

1. Our work started in 2010 when we presented the results of the fulfillment of pre-election promises given for the 2006-2010 term. Istinomjer was established as an initiative whose focus was, and still is, on the promotion of the responsibility of active political parties and politicians, especially those who formed the government (at all levels), but also the opposition, as well as holders of public offices who have a responsibility towards the citizens of BiH. The goal was to direct the political and public discourse in BiH as much as possible toward the promotion of political accountability as a fundamental principle of democracy.

https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/ 

2. Our team currently has eight members, of which one member is a project coordinator, two members are editor-in-chief and deputy editor, one member is a creative manager and the other four members are researchers. The positions of the Istinomjer team members as well as their biographies can be found here.

https://istinomjer.ba/istinomjer-tim/

Istinomjer shares the organization's resources for financial and project administration and coordination, proofreading, design, web and social media management, and other tasks as needed.

https://zastone.ba/tim/ 

3. When it comes to Istinomjer, apart from fact-checking statements (truthfulness, consistency, fulfillment of post-election promises) of politicians and political parties on a daily basis, we also track fulfillment of pre-election promises at various levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We currently track fulfillment of around 1880 pre-election promises at the state level (Council of Ministers of BiH), at the entity level (Government of Republika Srpska and Government of Federation of BiH), at the cantonal level (Kanton Sarajevo) and at the local level (13 municipalities and cities).

https://istinomjer.ba/

https://istinomjer.ba/predizborna_obecanja/opci-izbori/2022-2026/

https://istinomjer.ba/predizborna_obecanja/lokalni-izbori/2020-2024/

As we mentioned above, Istinomjer is part of the CA "Why Not?", but there are several other projects that our organization is implementing that we want to mention, such as Raskrinkavanje - online fact-checking platform; Javna rasprava - a platform that enables and facilitates citizens to directly participate in decision-making processes in BiH, as well as the opportunity to communicate with elected and appointed representatives in the legislature; Glasometar - an application for checking the voting preferences of voters; POINT - a regional conference of civil society organizations from seven countries in Southeast Europe that are intensively involved in the use of new technologies in their work.

More information on the activities carried out by CA "Why not?" can be found here:

https://zastone.ba/en/projects/

https://zastone.ba/en/category/news/

4. Our plan for the next year, apart from our daily fact-checking work, includes tracking the fulfillment of the pre-election promises (state and entity level, Kanton Sarajevo, and local level - all mentioned above). If the situation does not get complicated and there is no sudden change of government, during the next year we will publish at least five reports on the fulfillment of around 1880 pre-election promises.

It is also worth mentioning that the Local Election in BiH should be held in 2024 (probably in October).

If that occurs, our plan is to step up our efforts during the election campaign as in previous election years. This involves gathering the pre-election programs of candidates for as many municipalities and cities as possible. We will closely follow debates, candidate media appearances, and their social media activities during the pre-election campaign. The purpose of collecting pre-election programs is to initiate a new phase of monitoring after the elections, focusing on the fulfillment of promises in 10-15 new municipalities and cities.

We also plan to introduce some new content during the next year in order to attract new readers and to strengthen our public presence. 

Istinomjer is an initiative set up exclusively for the purposes of fact-checking. In this regard, they are compliant and meet the criteria requested.

From the beginning of June 2023 to the beginning of December 2023, we published around 115 fact-checks (so on average 4 to 5 fact-checks a week in the last six months). The statements of the officials were assessed as true, true to a greater or lesser extent, semi-true, unfounded, or, as is most often the case, untrue.

All fact-checks are available here: https://istinomjer.ba/izjave/istinitost-page/ 

On average, Istinomjer has published more than four fact-checks per week, over six months before the application. During the same period, they have been following closely politician's consistency and promises. Besides regular forms of fact-checks, they produced other journalistic pieces, such as analysis.

Istinomjer's fact-checks focus and have an impact on the well-being of the general public and society.

Our organization has no commercial, financial, and/or institutional relationship with the state, politicians, or political parties in the country. Our work is funded exclusively by international organizations which share our beliefs of objectivity and impartiality. Donors have no influence on our work. The work we do is performed strictly in line with our methodology and non-partisanship policy, which ensure objectivity and an impartial approach to topics, research, and ratings, regardless of who the “actors” are.

All information on Istinomjer’s funding for this and previous years can be found on this link: https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/  

The applicant’s editorial output is not dependent or controlled by the state, politicians or political parties in the country.

All information about our non-partisanship policy can be found on this link: https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/  

Istinomjer provides a statement on its website confirming their non-partisanship policy.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a very complex political system with a number of political parties at all levels of government - state, entity, and cantonal levels as well as at the level of local governments. This administrative division, paired with the ethnic divide produces a divided media sphere, where political actors usually receive different treatment based on their relation to these factors (administrative level and ethnic group).

Istinomjer fact-checks statements from politicians and political parties from all levels of government in BiH and always applies the same standards and methodology when assessing claims. We also track pre-election campaign promises of all political parties that participate in the governments at the state, entity, and cantonal levels as well as municipalities from both entities, from different cantons and different political parties.

Istinomjer selects article subjects on a daily basis, choosing topics based on current trends. We diligently monitor the media appearances of politicians every day to identify relevant topics for fact-checking. Considering that we cannot fact-check all of the statements and promises, we choose those that are newsworthy in terms of dealing with current “hot topics” and issues that affect people’s lives, or those that have weight for citizens as voters (particularly when following pre-election campaigns). 

We make a concerted effort to watch and listen to different politicians, ensuring a vast representation from all political parties. Our comprehensive coverage includes negative and positive assessments of almost all political parties and their politicians, underscoring our commitment to avoiding favoritism. We are nonpartisan and strive to be impartial when drawing attention to the inaccurate statements of all political actors. However, as our work is centered around the promotion of political accountability, it is inevitably focused more on some political actors than others. Specifically, we put a stronger focus on the parties and political figures who hold executive power, particularly since we also track these parties’ pre-election promises. 

We also encourage the readers to point us to possible false statements, unfulfilled promises, or any other relevant “fact-checking material” that we might have missed. In the spirit of transparency, if we make a mistake, we acknowledge it and make it right. Politicians' feedback is welcomed, and any received feedback is included in the disclaimer of the text, showcasing our dedication to accountability and continuous improvement.

Information on topic selection, right of reply and corrections can be found at this link: https://istinomjer.ba/metodologija/ 

Links to examples of our fact checks, proving the scope and consistency of our work, can be found below.

Examples of statements rated for truthfulness/untruthfulness:

https://istinomjer.ba/visoki-predstavnik-nije-zabranio-djelovanje-srpskoj-radikalnoj-stranci/ 

https://istinomjer.ba/stevandic-neistinito-o-dejtonskom-mirovnom-sporazumu/

https://istinomjer.ba/uslovi-za-zatvaranje-ohr-a-nisu-propisani-dejtonskim-sporazumom/

https://istinomjer.ba/koliko-je-hrvatskih-glasaca-dalo-glas-borjani-kristo-nemoguce-je-utvrditi/

https://istinomjer.ba/zakon-o-osnovama-sigurnosti-saobracaja-u-vise-navrata-je-mijenjan/

https://istinomjer.ba/zastita-drzavljana-ki-bih-na-privremenom-boravku-u-inostranstvu-u-nadleznosti-je-mvp-a-bih/

https://istinomjer.ba/zhk-i-ks-u-junu-jedini-s-pozitivnim-prirodnim-prirastajem-u-julu-nastupile-promjene/

https://istinomjer.ba/u-rs-smanjen-broj-upisanih-ucenika-ca-za-14-000-za-deset-godina/

https://istinomjer.ba/sdp-bih-u-niksicevoj-izbornoj-jedinici-nikada-nije-osvojio-direktan-mandat-za-drzavni-parlament/

https://istinomjer.ba/udio-javnog-duga-u-bdp-u-u-bih-medju-najmanjim-u-evropi/

Examples of statements rated for consistency/inconsistency:

https://istinomjer.ba/kosarac-nedosljedan-u-stavovima-o-proglasenju-dana-zalosti-u-bih/

https://istinomjer.ba/od-suzdrzan-do-za-u-deset-minuta/

https://istinomjer.ba/pregovori-iz-kafana-premjesteni-u-hotele/

https://istinomjer.ba/barucija-podrzala-imenovanje-kosarca-a-sada-trazi-njegovu-smjenu/

https://istinomjer.ba/izetbegovic-nedosljedno-o-izmjenama-izbornog-zakona-u-izbornoj-godini/

https://istinomjer.ba/dragan-covic-ne-komentira-sta-drugi-govore/

https://istinomjer.ba/od-ispostovacu-termine-u-banjoj-luci-do-ne-zelim-ucestovati-u-orkestriranoj-pozorisnoj-predstavi/

https://istinomjer.ba/novi-ministar-imenovan-i-bez-dodatnih-evropskih-zakona/

https://istinomjer.ba/gratz-dosljedan-u-stavovima-o-uvodjenju-dozivotnog-zatvora-i-prepoznavanju-zlocina-femicida/

https://istinomjer.ba/djozo-dosljedan-po-pitanju-mandicevog-opoziva/

Examples of ratings for fulfillment/non-fulfillment of promises:

https://istinomjer.ba/nakon-samaranja-u-liftu-nip-nije-sankcionisao-bajramovica/

https://istinomjer.ba/od-jula-besplatni-prenatalni-testovi-za-sve-trudnice-u-rs/

https://istinomjer.ba/novi-mandat-i-staro-obecanje-covica-o-izmjenama-izbornog-zakona/

https://istinomjer.ba/i-pored-niza-najava-konacnog-dogovora-rekonstrukcije-vlade-ks-jos-nema/

https://istinomjer.ba/jos-nema-neradnog-ponedjeljka-za-bijeljinske-ugostitelje/

https://istinomjer.ba/dodik-najavio-skoro-imenovanje-novog-ministra-finansija-bih/

https://istinomjer.ba/imenovana-nova-vlada-zdk-s-pivicem-na-celu/

https://istinomjer.ba/dva-sporazuma-o-mobilnosti-iz-berlinskog-procesa-uskoro-u-parlamentarnoj-skupstini/

https://istinomjer.ba/zavrsena-rekonstrukcija-tramvajske-pruge-u-sarajevu/

https://istinomjer.ba/ove-godine-pokretanje-srednje-skole-mup-a-rs/ 

From the fact checks shared as well as browsing through the website, it resonates that they cover a variety of topics and fulfill all necessary journalistic standards.

Istinomjer treats every political party and political option in BiH equally and applies identical standards and pre-established methodology when checking the accuracy of statements and promises of all political parties and politicians.

Since we cannot verify all statements and promises, we choose those that are currently of public interest, that are important for the daily life of citizens, or that are important for informing voters during the pre-election campaign.

More info can be found under "Odabir i ocjenjivanje istinitosti izjava" on this link: https://istinomjer.ba/metodologija/  

Istinomjer is non-partisan and seeks to maintain impartiality when drawing attention to the inaccurate statements of all political actors. However, as the work of Istinomjer is primarily focused on the promotion of political responsibility, it is inevitable that more political attention will be paid to some political actors and political parties.

In particular, our focus is always more on those political parties and politicians who participate in the executive branch, especially since Istinomjer also monitors the fulfillment of pre-election promises of these parties.

We also try to encourage readers to point out potentially incorrect statements, and unfulfilled promises, but also other relevant and verifiable public appearances of political actors that we may have missed.

Istinomjer is an unbiased platform that doesn't endorse any political party or candidate. We stay neutral, not favoring any specific side of the political spectrum. Importantly, we firmly refrain from entering into any contracts that could compromise our independence and integrity in our work.

More info can be found under “Nepristrasnost u radu” on this link: https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/   

Istinomjer does not seem to unduly concentrate its fact-checking on any one side. Their work seems unbiased and they encourage readers to point out any incorrect statements or points made.

The applicant is not 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.

Our non-partisanship policy, including its application on staffing, can be found under “Nepristrasnost u radu” on this link: https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/  

The applicant sets out its policy on non-partisanship for staff on its site. 

Istinomjer identifies the source of all significant evidence used in their fact checks, providing relevant links so the readers can, in fact, double-check on their own if necessary. 

The applicant uses the best available primary, not secondary, sources of evidence wherever suitable primary sources are available.

Based on the assessed sample of work, it seems that Istinomjer checks all key elements of claims against more than one named source of evidence when possible.

Istinomjer is one of two fact-checking platforms, in addition to Raskrinkavanje, of parent organization CA ”Why not?”. Civic Association "Why not?" (Udruženje građana "Zašto ne") is a legal entity registered in the Register of Civic Associations within the Ministry of Justice of FBiH on January 9th 2001 under No. 56, Book 1 of the Register, with registration number 03-054-992/97-2.

The decision on the Registration along with the Statute of the organization is attached in the application.

https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru 

https://zastone.ba/o-nama/  

Also, information on the income of UG "Zašto ne" for 2021 and 2022 is available at the following links: 

https://zastone.ba/app/uploads/2023/02/Incomes-2021.pdf

https://zastone.ba/app/uploads/2023/02/Income-2022.pdf 

The applicant has a page on its website detailing its main source of funding and the legal form in which it is registered (as a non-profit).

Istinomjer is one of two fact-checking sections of parent organization CA ”Why not”, as noted in our “About” page: 

https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/ 

Information about the legal status and scope of work of CA “Zasto ne” as the parent organization can be found on this link: 

https://zastone.ba/o-nama/

https://zastone.ba/projekti/

The statute of the organization is available on the following link: 

https://zastone.ba/app/uploads/2023/02/STATUT-Zasto-ne.pdf 

Information on the income of CA “Why not”/UG "Zašto ne" for 2021 and 2022 is available at the following links:

https://zastone.ba/app/uploads/2023/02/Incomes-2021.pdf

https://zastone.ba/app/uploads/2023/02/Income-2022.pdf

More detailed information on Istinomjer’s funding for this and previous years can be found under “Kako se finansiramo” on this link: https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/ 

A statement on ownership as well as additional information is published and findable on the organization's website.

Information about journalists and researchers, as well as information about editors, project coordinator and creative manager of Istinomjer team can be found here:

https://istinomjer.ba/istinomjer-tim/  

A statement is published on the website, clear and findable and identifies by whom editorial control is exercised. 

Information about journalists and researchers, as well as information about editors, project coordinator and creative manager of Istinomjer team can be found here:

https://istinomjer.ba/istinomjer-tim/  

A page on the applicant’s website details the professional biography of all those who, according to the organizational structure, play a significant part in its editorial output.

On the home page of our official website, it is possible to find the "Pitajte Istinomjer!" / "Ask the Istinomjer" feature through which interested readers can send us specific statements or promises from public officials that they would like us to investigate.

https://istinomjer.ba/pitajte-istinomjer  

Readers can also participate in the monitoring of the pre-election promises, by sending us their inputs on the fulfillment of each individual promise. Every promise has a form that can be used to submit additional data about that promise.

Please check the link below for an example:

https://istinomjer.ba/predizborna-obecanja/transparentnost-gradske-uprave/   

The applicant provides easy means on its website and via social media for users to communicate with the editorial team.

Our methodology can be found at this link:

https://istinomjer.ba/metodologija/  

The methodology which the applicant organization uses to select, research, write and publish its fact-checks is published and findable on the applicant's website.

Through a randomized sample, it seems that the applicant organization selects claims to check based primarily on the reach and importance of the claims.

Istinomjer uses relevant evidence, both supporting the claim as well as undermining it, presenting well researched information to the public.

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.

The applicant seeks when needed to contact those who made the claim to seek supporting evidence, noting that this is often not needed or possible with online claims, and if the person who makes the claim fails to reply in a timely way this does not impede the fact-check.

Readers can submit requests for fact-checks of claims made by political actors by filling out the form that is specially prepared for these purposes, which is easily accessible and visible on the main page of our website. The section is called "Pitajte Istinomjer!" / "Ask the Istinomjer".

http://istinomjer.ba/pitajte-istinomjer/

Readers can also submit requests for fact-checks of claims made by political actors by sending us an email with the claim, which is stated on the main page of our website.

Also, our readers can contact us through our Facebook/Twitter/Instagram page (as they most often do in previous years) and ask for the specific claim to be checked.

Readers can also participate in the monitoring of the pre-election promises, by sending us their inputs on the fulfillment of each individual promise. Every promise has a form that can be used to submit additional data about that promise.

https://istinomjer.ba/predizborna-obecanja/transparentnost-gradske-uprave/  

There is a form within Istinomjer's website where readers can submit their fact-check proposals. Additionally, readers can submit proposals via mail. Istinomjer's staff also uses social media to encourage people to propose fact-check ideas.

Our correction policy can be found under “Ispravka netačnih navoda” on the following link:

https://istinomjer.ba/metodologija/

All corrections and additions to the articles from 2022 and 2023 can be viewed at the following link (this link is available on our page in the “Ispravka netačnih navoda” section):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mRSyxMcbkToKDfqz2mCZ1D6xXwSALmLWFzbUWTtQVto/edit#gid=0  

The correction policy can be easily found in Istinomjer's "about" section. 

Istinomjer's correction policy complies with IFCN principles. It has been made easily accessible on their website, and the explanation of how the correction requests are being assessed was fairly presented.

In 2023, we made nine updates/corrections to our articles, mostly focusing on technical corrections or additions.

For instance, the article incorrectly referred to Zukan Helez as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina instead of the Minister of Defense, and we promptly corrected this information on the same day. https://istinomjer.ba/sdp-nema-delegate-kinje-u-domu-naroda-psbih/ 

In the article titled "Tuzla Canton is not the only one that adopted the budget for the current year," we initially omitted to mention that, besides the Sarajevo Canton, the Una-Sana Canton also did not adopt a budget for 2023. This information was added without changing the assessment of Žarko Vujović's statement. https://istinomjer.ba/tuzlanski-kanton-nije-jedini-koji-je-usvojio-budzet-za-tekucu-godinu/

We also corrected an error stating that some members of the Constitutional and Legal Commission were from SDS political party. This correction did not have any influence on the previous assessment which stayed the same after our correction. https://istinomjer.ba/ustavnopravna-komisija-nije-oba-puta-vecinom-glasova-donijela-odluku-o-zakonu-o-sportu/

The Government of the FBiH was appointed on 28/04/2023, not a day later, as mentioned in the original text. We corrected this error on 10/7/2023. https://istinomjer.ba/program-mjera-nove-vlade-fbih-nije-usvojen-prije-njenog-potvrdjivanja/

An article published on November 17, 2023, was updated to include information that the delegate Kemal Ademović was a member of SDA until 2018. This addition did not impact the initial assessment. https://istinomjer.ba/trojka-nije-sastavljena-vecinom-od-bivseg-kadra-sda/

The information about organ transplants in 2022 was corrected to state that four transplants were performed at UKCUS and four at UKC Tuzla, not as previously mentioned. https://istinomjer.ba/transplantacija-organa-u-bih-zakonska-ogranicenja-i-slaba-koordinacija/

In an analysis, we included additional information after a politician mentioned in the article contacted us. However, after reviewing his claims, we found no basis for correction. We added his response to the text for clarification. https://istinomjer.ba/bajramovic-neistinito-o-broju-glasova-i-mandata-kao-i-formiranju-nes-a/

However, we did have two corrections of the assessments in the previous year.

In the first article, the assessment was corrected from "untrue" to "mostly true" two days after the publication, after we added the results of the 2014 General Elections in the article, which we previously, by mistake, failed to mention. We made the correction after the political actor we evaluated contacted us with a request for correction. The article was republished after the correction, and the actor himself thanked for the positive reaction and correction.

https://istinomjer.ba/stevandic-uglavnom-istinito-o-izbornim-rezultatima-ognjena-tadica-i-jelene-trivic/

https://www.facebook.com/profile/100064101192127/search/?q=Stevandi%C4%87%20uglavnom%20istinito%20o%20izbornim%20rezultatima%20Ognjena%20Tadi%C4%87a%20i%20Jelene%20Trivi%C4%87 

In the second article, situation was a bit more complicated. We wrote an article evaluating the accuracy of a statement by Minister of Internal Affairs KS Admir Katica. The statement was sourced from the official Facebook page of People and Justice, the political party whose member Minister Katica is. Prior to publishing the article, we reached out to various addresses within the Cabinet of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the KS, but received no response before the article went live.

Over two months later, the Public Relations Office of the Cabinet of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the KS contacted us, requesting a correction regarding the assessment of the statement's truthfulness. They explained that Minister Katica's statement on the People and Justice Facebook page was incorrect and attributed it to a miscommunication. They provided the original statement from the minister, which differed from the one shared on the People and Justice Facebook page. Consequently, we corrected our initial assessment based on this new information.

https://istinomjer.ba/katica-neistinito-o-broju-ukradenih-vozila-u-kantonu-sarajevo/  

In cases where mistakes worthy of correction have occurred, the applicant has reacted in a fast and transparent way, making the corrections known to the public.

Information about complaints regarding the IFCN Code can be found in the section “Ispravka netačnih navoda” on our "About" and "Methodology" pages:

https://istinomjer.ba/o-istinomjeru/ 

https://istinomjer.ba/metodologija/ 

The applicant has the required statements available on their website and provides easy means of contacting IFCN in case of IFCN code violations. 

Not applicable (we are a project of a CSO, not a media company).

Not applicable as they are not a media company but a project of a CSO.