Organization: Libération - CheckNews
Applicant: Pauline Moullot
Assessor: Laurent Bigot
Conclusion and recommendations
Laurent Bigot wrote:
According to my second assessment, I think CheckNews continues to be a reliable fact-checking partner. They are compliant with most of the principles enacted by the IFCN.
The only points of uncertainty are that CheckNews doesn't detail its fact-checking methodology clearly with all the steps the journalists follow for their fact-checking work and CheckNews doesn't have a public page listing all corrections made.
So criterions 5a and 6b are partially compliant. But we can consider and hope that these criteria will be improved for the next time. This is highly desirable.
Laurent Bigot recommended Accept
Section 1: Organization
Criterion 1a
Proof of registration
Evidence required: Please provide evidence that the signatory is a legally-registered organization set up exclusively for the purpose of fact-checking or the distinct fact-checking project of a recognized media house or research institution.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
Libération, a legally registered French media outlet. The legal registration is mentioned here: http://www.liberation.fr/cgvu/
We publish fact-checks in the CheckNews section of Libération.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago)
CheckNews (https://liberation.checknews.fr/) is the distinct fact-checking section of the legally registered French media outlet Libération (https://www.liberation.fr/).
All the evidence of the Libération’s legal registration are presented in the “Mentions légales” through its ISSN and CPPAP numbers, here: http://www.liberation.fr/cgvu/
done_all 1a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 1b
Archive
Evidence required: Insert a link to the archive of fact checks published in the previous three months. If you do not collect all fact checks in one place, please explain how the fact-checking is conducted by your organization.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago)
CheckNews publishes reports regularly about the accuracy of claims. It does so with approximately between two and five fact-check daily over the previous three months. All its work is published here :
done_all 1b marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 2: Nonpartisanship and Fairness
Criterion 2a
Body of work sample
Evidence required: Please share links to ten fact checks that better represent the scope and consistency of your fact-checking. Provide a short explanation of how your organization strives to maintain coherent standards across fact checks.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
CheckNews's take on fact-checking is a bit different than other initiatives. Besides the content we check for the Facebook 3FPC (we always say in the headline and article if the article was published because of 3PFC without having a readers question), we publish responses to questions our readers ask us. This means we never publish a fact-check if nobody asked us a question first. The responses we publish reflect the diversity of the questions we receive.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
CheckNews’ journalists selected 10 fact-checks to prove scope and consistency of their work:
These examples show that CheckNews cover a variety of speakers (Pierre Gattaz, Valérie Pécresse, Emmanuel Macron, etc.) and that its fact-checks are non-partisan work.
CheckNews team also explains :
« CheckNews's take on fact-checking is a bit different than other initiatives. Besides the content we check for the Facebook 3FPC (we always say in the headline and article if the article was published because of 3PFC without having a readers question), we publish responses to questions our readers ask us. This means we never publish a fact-check if nobody asked us a question first. The responses we publish reflect the diversity of the questions we receive. »
done_all 2a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 2b
Nonpartisanship policy
Evidence required: Please share evidence of your policy preventing staff from direct involvement in political parties and advocacy organizations. Please also indicate the policy your organization has as a whole regarding advocacy and supporting political candidates.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
All the journalists working for Libération must respect the paper's chart of ethics. You can find it here. http://www.liberation.fr/cgvu/#charte-ethique
It says all the journalists working at Libération must respect this chart and we are a free and independent media. Excerpts:
“Liberation opposes skepticism to both official speeches and personal inclination, that is essential to the respect of facts.” (…)
“A "good" information is necessarily contradictory.” (…)
“The CIE (Editorial independence committee) ensures the application of this code of ethics.” (…)
“The association SJPL (Journalists and staff society), composed of Libération journalists holding a press card and other employees of Libération, is responsible for the editorial independence defense and ethical rules compliance in the company’s newsrooms.” (…)
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
To explain its policies to preserve its non-partisan way of fact-checking claims, CheckNews team mention the Libération chart of ethics: :
« All the journalists working for Libération must respect the paper's chart of ethics. You can find it here. http://www.liberation.fr/cgvu/#charte-ethique »
This document mentions that Libération is a free, vigilant and independent daily newspaper. It evokes several rules that guaranty the credibility of its work:
“The continuity of these principles detailed in this code of ethics is indispensable to guarantee the editorial independence and the quality of credible and rigorous news that make the value of Liberation’s publications.” (…)
“Liberation opposes skepticism to both official speeches and personal inclination, that is essential to the respect of facts.” (…)
“A "good" information is necessarily contradictory.” (…)
“The CIE (Editorial independence committee) ensures the application of this code of ethics.” (…)
“The association SJPL (Journalists and staff society), composed of Libération journalists holding a press card and other employees of Libération, is responsible for the editorial independence defense and ethical rules compliance in the company’s newsrooms.” (…)
done_all 2b marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 3: Transparency of Sources
Criterion 3a
Sources Policy
Please share a brief and public explanation (500 words max) of how sources are provided in enough detail that readers could replicate the fact check. If you have a public policy on how you find and use sources for your fact-checking, it should be shared here.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
All our sources are provided in our fact-checks. You can find them by hyperlinks. As you can see in the fact-checks above, we write our fact-checks in a pedagogical way and explain how we work, where we looked and who we talked to.
Our chart of ethics (link above) says we must "verify sources, the accuracy of quotes and mention explicitly where our information comes from" and "all information is strictly sourced".
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
Most of the time, sources are provided in CheckNews’s fact-checks. According to our assessment, the Libération’s fact-checkers give most of the time details to the readers, so that they are able to replicate the fact-check by their own means.
Fact-checks are written in a pedagogical way and the team try to explain its work.
Besides, Libération has a specific policy on sources, which is mentioned here: : http://www.liberation.fr/cgvu/#charte-ethique
It evokes its “scrupulous respect for professional ethics in all areas, from the sources verification to the accuracy of the quotes and the explicit mention of the origins of (its) information”. It also explains that “all information is rigorously sourced” and that “the use of anonymous sources is an exception, not a rule”.
done_all 3a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 4: Transparency of Funding & Organization
Criterion 4a
Funding Sources
Evidence required: Please link to the section where you publicly list your sources of funding (including, if they exist, any rules around which types of funding you do or don't accept), or a statement on ownership if you are the branch of an established media organization or research institution.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
We are part of Libération, so our funding depends on Libération. All the information on our ownership is here: http://www.liberation.fr/cgvu/#mentions-legales Asked by our readers about the Facebook partnership, we gave all the details for year 2018 in this article https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/2019/01/30/combien-a-rapporte-a-libe-son-partenariat-de-factchecking-avec-facebook-en-2018_1706160.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
CheckNews is the fact-checking section of a media named Libération. And the ownership of Libération is detailed here: http://www.liberation.fr/cgvu/#mentions-legales
This page explains that the main shareholder is SFR Presse.
The team also explains the way it works with Facebook here :
done_all 4a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 4b
Staff
Evidence required: Please link to the section detailing all authors and key actors behind your fact-checking project with their biographies. You can also list the name and bios of the members of the editorial board, pool of experts, advisory board, etc. if your organization has those.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
Almost all our articles are signed. In the "Mode d'emploi" page of CheckNews, available from the homepage of CheckNews, you can find the authors and a link to our twitter bios but this list isn't uptodate. Yet, I am not able to change it for the time being due to technical details. I guarantee I will change it asap.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
There’s a section detailing authors behind the project here : https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/about/
And all the articles are signed by their author and all the authors are easy to find on Twitter:
There’s a general Twitter account for CheckNews (https://twitter.com/CheckNewsfr ); and others Twitter accounts (where it’s possible to find succinct biographies) are here : https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/about/
"A ce jour, CheckNews est composé de huit personnes.
Chef de service : Cédric Mathiot (https://twitter.com/LibeDesintox)
Chefs de service adjoint : Luc Peillon (https://twitter.com/l_peillon) et Pauline Moullot (https://twitter.com/paulinemoullot)
Et cinq rédacteurs : Emma Donada (https://twitter.com/emmadonada), Fabien Leboucq (https://twitter.com/LeboucqF), Robin Andraca (https://twitter.com/RobinAndraca), Vincent Coquaz (https://twitter.com/VincentCoquaz) et Jacques Pezet (basé à Berlin) (https://twitter.com/Jacques_Pezet).
done_all 4b marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 4c
Contact
Evidence required: Please link to the section where readers can get in touch with the organization.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
https://liberation.checknews.fr/question/new?term= They can also contact us via our Facebook and twitter pages where we respond to them. https://www.facebook.com/CheckNewsFr/?ref=bookmarks https://twitter.com/CheckNewsfr
And via this form on libération: http://www.liberation.fr/contacts/
We also have an email: checknews@libe.fr (it will be added to the "mode d'emploi" soon)
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
It’s quite easy for readers to contact Check News : they can use the Twitter account (https://twitter.com/CheckNewsfr) or the CheckNews Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CheckNewsFr/?ref=bookmarks)
They can also use the Libération pages called “contact” (https://www.liberation.fr/contacts/) and “mentions légales” (http://www.liberation.fr/cgvu/#mentions-legales ), which explains that to join a journalist, you just have to send him an e-mail on the model : first name initial.lastname@liberation.fr
Readers can also use a specific form to ask questions to the team : https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/demander/ or an email adress : checknews@libe.fr
done_all 4c marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 5: Transparency of Methodology
Criterion 5a
Detailed Methodology
Evidence required: Please link to a section or article detailing the steps you follow for your fact-checking work.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
We explain our methodology in this "mode d'emploi" https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/about/
We explain there why we launched checknews, how we decide which questions we will respond.The chart of ethics also says all journalists of Libération must respect the methodology explained in the chart.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
The CheckNews methodology is publicly explained here : https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/about/
The team explains : “we launched checknews, how we decide which questions we will respond. The chart of ethics also says all journalists of Libération must respect the methodology explained in the chart.”
CheckNews only explains how the team chooses the questions it answers, there is no explanation of the verification method used until publication or non-publication.
done 5a marked as Partially compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 5b
Claim submissions
Evidence required: Please link to the page or process through which readers can submit claims to fact-check. If you do not allow this, please briefly explain why.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
They can submit fact-checks directly on CheckNews (it is the essence of our project), and also on twitter, facebook, email. We will launch a whatsapp channel in the next two months.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
There’s a dedicated page to invite readers to submit claims to fact-check on CheckNews website (https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/demander/).
The team explains : “They can submit fact-checks directly on CheckNews (it is the essence of our project), and also on twitter, facebook, email. We will launch a whatsapp channel in the next two months."
The team also make it clear what readers can legitimately expect will be fact-checked and what isn’t fact-checkable.
done_all 5b marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Section 6: Open & Honest Corrections Policy
Criterion 6a
Corrections policy
Evidence required: Please link to the page with your policy to address corrections. If it is not public, please share your organization's handbook.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
When we will update the "Mode d'emploi" page, we well explain the correction policy. Everytime we correct or edit an article we say so at the end of the article, with a time and date.
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
The staff explains (here: https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/about/) its corrections policy like that: “We are accountable for our answers. And we have already amended some after comments from readers indicating errors or inaccuracies. Whenever an article is modified or corrected, the update is systematically indicated at the bottom of the article, in a visible manner, with the date and time of the modification. »
done_all 6a marked as Fully compliant by Laurent Bigot.
Criterion 6b
Examples of corrections
Evidence required: Please provide two examples of a correction made, or correction requests handled, in the past year.
Libération - CheckNews
06-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
Laurent Bigot Assessor
25-Sep-2019 (5 years ago) Updated: 5 years ago
CheckNews doesn't have a public page listing all corrections made but it provides three examples of a correction made in the past year :