1. Vistinomer (Truthmeter) was established and is published as a distinct unit of the Metamorphosis Foundation, a non-governmental organization incorporated in Skopje, North Macedonia and registered under the Associations and Foundations Law of 2004. 

Vistinomer Contact page (https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/ in Macedonian, https://truthmeter.mk/contact/ in English) clearly states that the web site is published by the Metamorphosis Foundation.

The Contact page (https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/ in Macedonian, https://truthmeter.mk/contact/ in English) of the web site states: "Truthmeter – the public accountability, transparency and fact-checking website is published by the Metamorphosis Foundation" and the link goes to the publisher's web site for further information.

Metamorphosis Foundation web site is metamorphosis.org.mk and it contains the information on all aspects of the work of the organization, including other projects, units and programs.

2. Vistinomer is set up exclusively for the purpose of fact-checking, and is publishing between ten to twelve fact checks per week.

Vistinomer About page clearly states the web site public interest fact checking purpose, as well as the list of donors throughout the years (https://vistinomer.mk/za-vistinomer/ in Macedonian, https://truthmeter.mk/about-truthmeter/ in English). Vistinomer, like the other Metamorphosis Foundation web sites, was established to cover public interest journalism, which is in line with the Metamorphosis mission of strengthening and advancing democracy. Vistinomer has never strayed from this path and will always pursue public interest journalism, which includes fact checking for for the benefit of the public interest, both for the citizens and the society as a whole.

By law, civil society organizations in North Macedonia are obliged to publish annual accounts on their website. Metamorphosis Foundation annual financial/tax/audit reports (2010-2021) on the following section of the website metamorphosis.org.mk/za-nas/godishni-izveshtai/ in Macedonian and https://metamorphosis.org.mk/en/about/annual-reports/ in English.

Vistinomer is not separately registered with the state. According to the Macedonia’s media/broadcasting laws, internet media/publications do not require separate registration with the state/media regulator.

Vistinomer has three language editions:

Vistinomer.mk (Macedonian language edition)

Vertetmates.mk (Albanian language edition)

Truthmeter.mk (English language edition)

Albanian and English language editions are not separately and/or differently edited or staffed (except with translators). They publish only Albanian and/or English language translations of the Macedonian edition originals.

Please find attached the following documents:

- The original court decision (from 22. November 2004) allowing the creation and registration of the Metamorphosis Foundation as an NGO.

- The latest version (from 5. October 2022) of the Metamorphosis Foundation registration document issued by Central Registry confirming our registration status as legal person, called „Current Status“. 

Information about Vistinomer's legal status and publisher is available on their website.

1. Vistinomer (Truthmeter) was established in April 2011 by Metamorphosis Foundation as a public accountability and transparency web site. It responded to the need to promote democracy and helping citizens make informed choices by keeping politicians and democratic institutions accountable by fact-checking the veracity of the statements by politicians, state and public officials, and other influential figures, and to create public record on the fulfilment of their promises. In 2012 Metamorphosis expanded the work of the Truthmeter to the area of media fact-checking, and in 2018 also started addressing the aspects of fact-checking related to media literacy, also tackling disinformation spread via social network platforms.

More information regarding the reasons for the creation of Vistinomer and its work are published at the web sites' About page

https://vistinomer.mk/za-vistinomer/ in Macedonian, and https://truthmeter.mk/about-truthmeter/ in English.

2. Vistimer as fact-checking unit within Metamorphosis Foundation is run by a core team editor-in-chief, 4 other editors in charge of fact-checking, 2 translators, IT person and 2 social media specialists, as well as 9 associate journalists/fact-checkers.

Here is the list of the Vistinomer editorial board, authors, the support staff and the outside contributors together with their short CV's published at the web sites' Contact Page: https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/ in Macedonian, and https://truthmeter.mk/contact/ in English).

The Vistinomer parent organization Metamorphosis Foundation has a larger team and their roles are transparently described on the following page https://metamorphosis.org.mk/en/about/staff/.

3. Vistinomer (Truthmeter) work is mainly focused on political fact-checking (verification of truthfulness of statements by politiicans, officials and influential public figures, and fulfilment of political party election promises), as well as fact-checking of viral disinformation on social media platforms and in the media sphere of North Macedonia. The team also engages in cooperation with other fact-checking organizations from the Balkans on tackling cross-border disinformation. The team produces a steady flow of fact-checking contents (articles, short videos) and from time to time conducts trainings on issues such as fact-checking methodology, media literacy, critical thinking, countering hate speech for journalists from the country and the region.

Vistinomer operates as a unit within the Media Program of the Metamorphosis Foundation. The other activities of the Metamorphosis Foundation, the publisher of Vistinomer are conducted through four main program areas (Media for Democracy, Social Accountability, Education for Innovation and Human Rights Online). More information about the programs as well as the current and previous projects are available on Metamorphosis website: https://metamorphosis.org.mk/en/programs/

4. Over the coming year the activities of our fact-checking operations will include:

- Throughout 2022 we were working on a regional Western Balkans project titled "Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Data-Driven Watchdog Journalism" as the main coordinating partner of the project with NGO's from Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. The project will continue with the implementation in 2023 and the main goal concerns exposing foreign malign influences in the region by debunking and mapping the flow of disinformation and propaganda originating from external actors. This project is financed by the Ditch Embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia. 

- From July 2022 up until the end of June 2023, we are also working on a project titled "Promoting Access to Reliable News to Counter Disinformation" funded by the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The project aims to expose the foreign propaganda influence through watchdog journalism and use the research results to educate the public in an understandable manner, in order to make it widely recognized as a priority issue that requires urgent response.

- We continue to promote public accountability and transparency through Vistinomer by fact-checking the fulfillment of the political parties' election promises. There has been over a year since the end of the previous local elections, the new mayors and municipality councils are established and had enough time to make all the necessary preparations to start fulfilling their election promises. Therefore we can direct our efforts toward fact checking the election promises of the local authorities, beside fact-checking the electoral promises of the national authorities. We will, also continue to fact check statements of the public office holders, as well as other persons with influence over the creation of public policies at all levels, both local and national. These activities represent an important part of our core mission as a public accountability and transparency web site. 

- Continuing our work as Facebook third party independent fact checker as we did in the last 28 months (since August 2020). During this period we regularly published several dozen fact-checks - explanatory articles/reviews of disinformation per month. The most widely covered subjects concern: 

a.) COVID-19 and anti-COVID-19 vaccines disinformation; We intend to continue covering COVID-19 disinformation for as long as necessary, because it is still viral and because of its' capacity of causing harm.

b.) Ukraine-Russia war disinformation; Disinformation covering Ukraine-Russia war is also widespread, despite being mostly imported from abroad.

c.) Fake giveaway scams; Our fact-checking of social media content promoting and selling fake medicines has been going on ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, since the promotion of these products started gaining speed and influence with the onslaught of the pandemic. 

d.) Promotion and sale of fake medicines; The phenomenon of fake giveaways on social platforms through creation of pages by using well known brands is recent phenomenon we also follow closely. 

We, of course, do cover all viral disinformation, but this four areas of disinformation produce the highest number of false content pieces and are highly persistent and repetitive.

These are just some of the activities we intend to implement during the next 12 months.

Vistinomer was set up exclusively as a fact-checking platform.

Vistinomer is a public accountability and transparency web site. Our core mission is to increase the transparency and accountability of the public officials, political parties and state institutions.

Here is the list of our fact-checking sections together with the link to the section and the number of fact-checks in every section over the course of the six months prior to the date of application.

One of the main activities in accomplishing our mission consists of fact checking statements of the elected and appointed officials, public figures with influence over the creation of public policies and press releases of the political parties. This is accomplished through the following section:

https://vistinomer.mk/rubricna-kategorija/rubrika-izjavi-mk/ (12 articles - 1. April - 27. November, 2022)

Vistinomer also analyses the state of fulfillment of the political parties’ election promises, as well as the issues regarding accountability and transparency practices of the local and state institutions. Here is the link to this section:

https://vistinomer.mk/rubricna-kategorija/rubrika-vetuvanja-mk/ (8 articles - 1. April - 27. November, 2022)

From the August 2020, as Vistinomer became Meta Third Party Independent Fact -Checking Partner, we established a separate section for these fact checks. 

This section lately also includes fact checks from our Dutch Embassy funded "Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Data-Driven Watchdog Journalism" project, as well as NED funded "Promoting Access to Reliable News to Counter Disinformation" project. 

All of the articles in this section are fact-checks, regardless of their project affiliation. Here is the link to this section:

https://vistinomer.mk/rubricna-kategorija/proverka-na-fakti-mk/ (395 articles - 1. April - 27. November, 2022)

Vistinomer publishes fact-checks regularly, sometimes more than one per day.

Vistinomer covers relevant topics of greater public interest.

Metamorphosis Foundation, the Vistinomer publisher, does not receive funds from the state, politicians and political parties in the country. Vistinomer is funded from projects Metamorphosis Foundation is awarded by international donors and non-profit organizations interested in strengthening democracy and accountability in the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as providing services such as fact-checking. This is the way to preserve the independence, credibility and non-partisan nature of the web site, as well as unbiased fact-checking based on our methodology and our partners' guidelines. Donors have no influence on our editorial production which is conducted solely according to the published methodologies which are based on the Code of Journalists of Macedonia and the IFCN Code of Principles.

Metamorphosis Foundation annual financial and audit reports (2010-2021) are published regularly and are available here: metamorphosis.org.mk/za-nas/godishni-izveshtai/ in Macedonian and https://metamorphosis.org.mk/en/about/annual-reports/ in English.

As a unit, at the About section of our web site, Vistinomer/Truthmeter publishes the information of the projects providing specific funding for its activities, including names of our donors, together with the periods of provided funding: https://vistinomer.mk/za-vistinomer/ in Macedonian, https://truthmeter.mk/about-truthmeter/ in English.

During the latest funding period (June 2022-May 2023, and November 2021 - December 2022) Metamorphosis Foundation and Vistinomer received grants from the Dutch Embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia and National Endowment for Democracy (ned.org). Vistinomer editorial team has complete editorial independence in making the editorial decisions when it comes to these grants. To increase transparency and visibility, articles produced under auspices of specific projects also contain disclaimers with more information. For instance:

"This article has been produced within the project Fact-Checking the Progress of North Macedonia towards the EU, implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation. The article, originally published by Truthmeter, is made possible by the support of the American non-profit foundation NED (National Endowment for Democracy). The content of this article is the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Metamorphosis, NED or their partners."

and

„Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Data-Driven Watchdog Journalism. This content has been produced as part of the regional initiative Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub."

(Note - The whole disclaimer is then linked to the following page: https://antidisinfo.net/hub/?fbclid=IwAR0DoNl0z2fT5cBIxb1tLBlZYlHd-eTTNfqiiJClx4yADqDd5XnVGs6bwJ8/)

Vistinomer does not receive money from the state nor is in any way connected to political parties. Information about their donors is available on Vistinomer and Metamorphosis websites.

Non applicable. 

Bellow is a selection of our fact checks from different sections of our web site in order to provide broader picture of our fact checking activities. We included fact checks of social media content since they were the most numerous by far this year.

Vistinomer team always follows the methodology when performing fact checks allowing us to maintain coherent standards across fact checks. Our methodology for fact-checking the media is used within the entire Metamorphosis Foundation for fact-checking. It was previously used in the Media Fact-Checking Service (2013-17), as well as the fact checking and media literacy project CriThink – Critical Thinking for Mediawise Citizens (2018-2021). This methodology was developed in 2012-13 and is updated as needed. It is a document that explains the way of collecting information, their systematization and selection, use of sources and all other journalism techniques for finding and managing information, but placed in the context of fact-checking of previously published content by various actors in public discourse. The rules, practices and techniques set out in this methodology are comprehensive and can apply to all types of media, but special attention is paid to the specifics of fact-checking in content published online.

Our fact-checking methodology can be found here:

http://factchecking.mk/methodology/ (English)

http://proverkanafakti.mk/методологија/ (Macedonian)

Note: This methodology document is also linked to the methodology section at the Vistinomer web site.

STATEMENT FACT CHECKS: Within each fact-checked statement, Vistinomer team includes embedded links to all the quoted sources, and in some cases more extensive lists of sources are also added at the end of the article for quick reference. It can also be seen that the structure of the articles is the same, providing us with uniformity of approach and a sure way in following the methodology. This, on the other hand, allows us to use the same standards of evidence for equivalent claims and follow the same essential process for every fact check.

When we fact check a statement, we always look for a video material containing the statement and use the original citation whenever possible. This allows us to avoid taking words out of context or missing out on an important part of the statement.

Vistinomer team tags in the social media the individuals, institutions or media whose statements we fact check. With that we provide opportunity for them to react, comment and provide additional context if required as soon as possible.

SOCIAL PLATFORM CONTENT FACT CHECKS AND MEDIA FACT CHECKS: whenever we are doing social media/media fact checks, we always link to the original article and/or provide a complete screenshot of the whole page where the fact checked article is published.

Our fact checkers use primary sources in their fact checks whenever possible. We use publicly available information and databases regularly in our work, seek out help of experts and go through reports of domestic and international institutions, think thanks and NGOs. Unnamed sources are never used as a mean to come up with a conclusion in our fact checks. They are used only as a help in reaching or finding public and/or official sources and documents.

Fact-Checks/Reviews of Viral Disinformation or Media Manipulations:

1. It is Not True that Russia Has Already Shot Down the Planes We Donated to Ukraine - 11.08.2022

Link to fact-check: https://vistinomer.mk/ne-e-vistina-deka-rusija-vekje-gi-srushila-avionite-shto-%d1%9d-gi-doniravme-na-ukraina/

Link to Facebook publication (original text deleted, but article archived):

https://vistinomer.mk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/fb-su-25.png

What is the disinformation about: A false Facebook publication claimed that two of the four military planes donated to Ukraine by Macedonia were shot down by the Russian Air Defence

What does the fact-check say: The information was made up, and neither the Ukrainian nor the Russian side confirmed it. Ukrainian authorities reported that the Macedonian donation was still not put into use and that a longer period of time was required for such a process.

2. Through Manipulation of Dates, It Is Falsely Claimed that Ukraine Is to Blame for the Mass Graves in Izium – 20.09.2022

Link to fact-check: https://vistinomer.mk/preku-manipulacija-so-datumi-netochno-se-tvrdi-deka-ukraina-e-vinovna-za-masovnite-grobnici-vo-izium/

Link to Facebook publication: https://www.facebook.com/aleksandar.nikolovski.188478/posts/pfbid0TBoWBs4Qb1YmmLo12UwYQVb7eGqUxtnhFDFHLisGmVcToEk3FrmbFoyGVQz2ksLFl

What is the disinformation about: By a false Facebook publication the Ukrainians are blamed for mass graves in the town of Izium.

What does the fact-check say: The claims that Ukrainians are responsible for these mass-graves are completely unrelated to the actual situation on the ground. The Russian military forces are accountable for the deaths of many people resulting from the Russian air raids even before the town was officially under full Russian occupation.

3. It Is Not True that the Abbreviations MK and MKD Went into History - 26.04.2022

Link to fact-check: https://vistinomer.mk/netochno-e-deka-kratenkite-mk-i-mkd-zaminale-vo-istorijata/

Link to Facebook publication: https://www.facebook.com/Taratur/posts/10160764033210955

What is the disinformation about: The posted article claims that the abbreviations MKD and MK went into history i.e. that NATO changed the code for the name Macedonia and that now, instead of MKD, one two letters were used - NM.

What is the disinformation about: This is completely untrue. The abbreviations for Macedonia, i.e. the ISO codes remain the same - MK and MKD.

4. It Is a Lie that the USA Invented Covid-19 and Caused the War in Ukraine “to exterminate the people” – 15.05.2022

Link to fact-check: https://vistinomer.mk/laga-e-deka-amerika-go-izmislila-kovid-19-i-predizvikala-vojna-vo-ukraina-za-da-ispoubie-narod/

Link to Facebook publication: https://www.facebook.com/hasan.selmanovski/posts/5383330621698401

What is the disinformation about: The publication claims that the Americans invented the “biological Covid” thus exterminating many people. That was not enough for them however, so they initiated a war in Ukraine in order to spark an atomic war.

What does the fact-check say: Such a claim is false and intentional. The fact is that Covid-19 originates from animals and that it appeared in China for the first time. It is also a fact that Russia attacked Ukraine 24th February 2022. Russian troops initiated the attack on Ukraine acting upon the order of Vladimir Putin who announced “a special military operation” despite the warnings of World’s leaders that such an action might cause the biggest war ever in Europe since 1945.

5. Flu Vaccines Did Not Exist at All in 1918 – 26.07.2022

Link to fact-check: https://vistinomer.mk/vo-1918-godina-voopshto-nemalo-vakcina-protiv-grip/

Link to Facebook publication: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bdMknzRYcnbbAnoTXxWojjxCxtQ3zdNqsbiW2W1whTMf6gePSX7XAUVz3r2Z7wH4l&id=100080479954850

What is the disinformation about: The publication claims that during the time of the Spanish Flu in 1918 (newspaper clippings are shared from that time), the vaccines were toxic and people were dying from vaccination.

What does the fact-check say: Such a claim is false. Vaccines against the Flu did not exist at all in 1918. People were dying in such a large number, although doctors were prescribing 30 grams of Aspirin per day - a dose that proved to be toxic even though it was unknown at the time. The first vaccine against the Flu was invented in the USA around 1940.

6. It Is Not True that Electricity for Overlapping Dates is Charged Twice - 28.09.2022

Link to fact-check: https://vistinomer.mk/ne-e-vistina-deka-za-struja-se-plakja-dvapati-za-preklopeni-datumi-na-smetkite/

Link to Facebook publication (original text is deleted, but it is archived):

https://vistinomer.mk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/fb-smetki-struja.png

What is the disinformation about: The posted article claims that the electricity bills of two consecutive months indicate days for which electricity is charged twice.

What does the fact-check say: The fact-check explains that charges are not imposed twice and clarifies why those few days are included in both bills i.e. calender weeks are considered according to the algorithm applied. According to EVN, the dates on the front page of the invoice are the dates of beneficiary’s metre-reading week i.e. it shows the group the beneficiary belongs to in the reading period. The dates related to the actual billing are located on the back side of the invoice. Hence, the dates of the actual readings never overlap with those identified the previous month and therefore double billing of electricity is not possible.

7. It Is Not True that General Zaluzhny Wore a Swastika Bracelet - 18.10.2022

Link to fact-check: https://vistinomer.mk/ne-e-vistina-deka-generalot-zaluzhni-nosel-narakvica-so-svastika/

Link to Facebook publication:

https://www.facebook.com/freeglobe.mk/posts/pfbid022TEN7vRxxbFsSYr1WXCM1unos9zQijxXDrE1uC56faRnwevR3YRT4YqnH8PkSGwMl

What is the disinformation about: The published text claims that the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army, General Valery Zaluzhny posed wearing a Swastika-bracelet, and personally published the photograph on Twitter. The published text claims that the bracelet worn by Zaluzhny consisted of several ornaments, with a Swastika on one of them.

What does the fact-check say: The fact-check demystifies the propaganda narrative related to the Ukrainian General Valery Zaluzhny who apparently wore a bracelet with nazi-symbols. By researching the bracelet, we proved that the bracelet had Scandinavian symbols and it could be purchased on the Internet with selected stones.

8. Just because Fish Oil Capsules Melt Styrofoam, Doesn’t Mean that They Will Do the Same to Human Stomach – 11.05.2022

Link to fact-check:

https://vistinomer.mk/ako-kapsuli-od-ribino-maslo-topat-stiropor-ne-znachi-deka-istoto-kje-go-napravat-i-so-chovekoviot-zheludnik/

Link to Facebook publication:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02nQmW6hADSPtGfPsahNXENwDLDhRAJ1isbrD61jzQ6WwTCPnMMEgZFmpmN8SKd5zcl&id=100080479954850

What is the disinformation about: The published text claims that fish oil supplements melt Styrofoam, hence the same can be done to human stomach.

What does the fact-check say: The published text indicates lack of knowledge regarding chemical processes and reactions. As the manufacturers of fish oil supplements and chemists claim, such a thing does not happen to human organism. The interaction with Styrofoam is not identical with the absorption of oil fish by human organism.

9. World Economic Forum Has Not Produced a Commercial against Birth Rate; the Clip Is from a Series – 04.08.2022

Link to fact-check:

https://vistinomer.mk/svetskiot-ekonomski-forum-nema-napraveno-reklama-protiv-natalitetot-klipot-e-od-serija/

Link to Facebook publication:

https://www.facebook.com/janeva.janeva.52/posts/pfbid0zfDqv5f6MBqcMf4eZnNv2JseKJ51Qfmt2BNGZbMEFvCcEVLKtpiuxTEdTFCchyBul

What is the disinformation about: The published text presents the British Television Series UTOPIA as a commercial developed by the World Economic Forum.

What does the fact-check say: The abstract from the UK television series “Utopia” is a drama that is in no way related to the World Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum commercial was broadcasted on the official YouTube Channel 3rd June 2020. It however, included nothing from the clip shared. It showed abstracts from the Covid-19 pandemic, environmental disasters and worldwide protests.

10. The Situation in the Hospital in Gostivar was Falsely Presented with Old or Someone Else’s Photographs – 05.04.2022

Link to fact-check:

https://vistinomer.mk/so-stari-ili-so-tugji-fotografii-lazhno-se-pretstavuva-tekovnata-sostojba-vo-gostivarskata-bolnica/

Link to Facebook publication:

https://www.facebook.com/zdravstvo.makedonija/posts/2140408242807736

What is the disinformation about: The published text claims that the photographs depict the Hospital in Gostivar. The photos illustrate the catastrophic conditions, the dilapidated hospital building, the run-down rooms as well as patients staying in substandard environments.

What does the fact-check say:

The Hospital in Gostivar responded to Truthmeter by claiming that the accusations were false and supported its claim with the latest photographs. They insisted that the published photos were either old photographs or photos from another place. The hospital apparently had new windows, doors and facade that is worked on at the moment. The ward for Surgery, Gynecology and Internal Medicine are completely renovated. “The photos with people lying on the beds - that’s not our hospital - we were told by the people from the hospital in Gostivar. We received photos from literally all refurbished wards. Some of the published photos are not even from Macedonia.

Vistinomer uses the same methods regardless of the topic and stakeholders.

Vistinomer maintains coherent standards across fact checks by strictly following its methodology. Our methodology contains rules and procedures regarding the rating of the truthfulness of the statements we fact check, criteria for selecting statements to fact check, rules regarding the selection, quoting and reporting our sources, rules on how to state conflicts of interest, etc.

We select the statements to fact check by the importance of the source, as well as the importance of the statement subject on the lives of the citizens. We diligently follow the methodology in order to secure consistency and fairness among different statements.

The political affiliation of the source behind the statement is not taken into consideration when making fact-checking selection decisions. We diligently follow the methodology in order to secure consistency and fairness among different statements.

Possible conflicts of interests are stated on the spot, so that they would be cleared at the time the reader encounters them.

Here is the link to the methodology we use as we fact-check the statements of the public officials, others with influence over policy decisions, as well as political party press releases:

https://vistinomer.mk/metodologija/ (MK); https://truthmeter.mk/methodology/ (ENG)

Beside explaining the specifics and the features of every different type of fact check, this page explains the selection criteria of the content to be fact checked. It contains selection criteria for all three different types of fact checks (policymakers and policy influencers statements, political party election promises and social media/news media fact checks). All three fact checking sections on the web site are clearly marked as such. All the selection criteria are non-partisan and are in line with the IFCN's Code of Principles.

Here is the link to our long standing and detailed methodology for the media fact checking we use throughout our fact checking projects at the Metamorphosis Foundation, ever since 2012 and update from time to time: http://proverkanafakti.mk/методологија/. Note: This document is also linked to the methodology page at the Vistinomer web site.

Selection of the clams for fact-checking stems from the fact-checkers themselves, from our readers suggestions and from the editors. The go-no go decisions are made by the editors.

The methodology is explained in detail on Vistinomer's website. It is well explained and contains all the unnecessary information.

Vistinomer does not seem to be affiliated with any political parties/

Metamorphosis Foundation is and has always been a non-partisan organization. Neither the Foundation, nor the employees have ever publicly supported any political party or any candidate for a political office during elections. The employees, Vistinomer staff included, do not involve themselves directly in political parties and advocacy organizations.

To insure the journalistic professionalism and integrity, Vistinomer team strictly follows these three acts/policy documents:

1. North Macedonia’s Foundations and Citizen Associations Law forbids NGO’s taking part in financing political parties, as well as engaging in electoral activities on behalf of political parties:

Chapter 4, Article 13 of the law says: “NGO’s cannot execute activities commensurate of those done by a political party, namely they cannot secure direct or indirect financing of a specific political party and influence the elections.” Elections influence is defined as “taking part in the elections and election campaigns on behalf of a specific political party and directly or indirectly financing an electoral campaign of a political party”.

2. Vistinomer team follows the Metamorphosis Foundation Integrity Policy (attached bellow) based on the organization's Code of Conduct, which is in turn adopted by the Managing Board.

The Article 2b of the Integrity Policy covers the issue of the organization's political independence and states the following:

"As non-partisan non-governmental organization, Metamorphosis Foundation shall maintain independence and not be aligned or affiliated with any political party, although it may share a common political or legislative cause within the limit of its mission, stated objectives and legal structure.

Metamorphosis’ advocacy efforts may include nonpartisan election-related activities. However, its resources may not be used for partisan political activities, including supporting or opposing a political party or organization and supporting or opposing candidates for public office."

Here is the page to which our organization's Integrity Policy (Политика на интегритет) is linked on the Vistinomer web site:

https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/

3. Vistinomer team also follows the Journalists Association of Macedonia Code of Ethics. This is a requirement for all the Vistinomer team members, as well as for the journalists working on all other Metamorphosis Foundation media projects.

The Article 14 of the Code of Ethics states the following:

"Reporting on political processes, especially elections, must be impartial, balanced and fair. The journalist must make professional distance from the political subjects."

Vistinomer web site at the Contact/Credits page provides links to both Metamorphosis Foundation's Integrity Policy and Journalist Association's Ethics Code in order to inform the audience about the professional obligations under which the Vistinomer team operates.

4. Vistinomer is registered at the register of the professional media, established by the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia and the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and is required to adopt and follow the strict Journalist Ethics Code.

Council of Media Ethics Page: https://semm.mk/en/

Association of Journalists of Macedonia: https://znm.org.mk/en/homepage/

Professional Internet Media Register Main Page (Vistinomer is 9th from the top in the first column): https://promedia.mk/main

Vistinomer page at the Professional Internet Media Register: https://promedia.mk/medium;id=caee5f81-078f-4cf8-a204-2986bbadb190

AJM Ethics Code: https://promedia.mk/codeofethics?lng=en

5. Vistinomer is a founding member of the EFCSN (European Fact Checking Standards Network).

6. Metamorphosis Foundation, the Vistinomer publisher, is a founding member and the future prospective member of the EFCSN (European Fact Checking Standards Network), which is in a stage of founding and incorporation. In August 2022 Metamorphosis Foundation took part in the creation and the voting of the newly adopted European Code of Standards for Independent Fact-Checking Organizations (page 24) and then in September also took part in shaping the future organization as one of the almost 50 fact checking outlets from all over Europe. Metamorphosis Foundation also took active role in the proposal and the voting process of the newly created Governing body of the EFCSN.

Vistinomer has a track record of non-partisanship and follows numerous professional guides in order to preserve it.

Vistinomer's sources are named and linked.

Vistinomer's sources are relevant and trustworthy.

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Vistinomer is a fact checking unit of the Metamorphosis Foundation, located in Skopje, North Macedonia. Please, find the already attached Metamorphosis Foundation registration/incorporation documents at the very beginning of this application (Criteria 1.1). 

Vistinomer is a fact-checking unit of the Metamorphosis Foundation.

The ownership statement of Vistinomer is clearly stated at the web sites' contact/credits page at: https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/

The first paragraph after the contact form clearly states:

Macedonian version:

Порталот за јавна отчетност, транспарентност и проверка на факти „Вистиномер“ е издание на Фондацијата „Метаморфозис“.

English translation:

Truthmeter – the public accountability, transparency and fact checking web site is published by the Metamorphosis Foundation.

Vistinomer's "contact" page contains information about their ownership and founders - Metamorphosis Foundation.

The contact/credits page clearly shows the role of the whole personnel at the web site starting from the editorial staff, support staff (technical and translations), as well as the fact checkers: https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/

As stated previously, at the request from our donors, some articles contain a disclaimer at the bottom further explaining roles and responsibilities (or lack there of) of the persons and institutions involved in the specific article. 

Names and short biographies of the editorial team can be found on Vistinomer's "contact" page.

The names of the staff directly involved in content creation (editors and fact checkers) are linked to a short professional biography. https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/

Short biographies of Vistinomer's editorial team can be found on the "contact" page.

1. The following disclaimer is published bellow every single article on the web site (in three languages - Macedonian, Albanian and English) to make it easier for the readers to communicate with the editorial team:

Macedonian version:

Сите коментари и забелешки поврзани со овој и другите написи на Вистиномер, барањата за корекции и појаснувања, како и предлозите за проверка на изјавите на политичарите и ветувањата на политичките партии, можете да ги доставите преку овој формулар (https://truthmeter.mk/contact/)

English translation:

All comments and remarks regarding this and other Vistinomer articles, correction and clarification requests as well as suggestions for fact-checking politicians’ statements and political parties’ promises can be submitted by using this form (https://truthmeter.mk/contact/)

2. After they follow the link, they have multitude of communication options such as the contact form, the e-mail addresses of the editorial staff and the management, as well as the office phone and the postal address.

3. Our readers can also communicate with us through the chat function at our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/vistinomer/about/). At the same page, they can also use The Additional Contact Info field, which also includes our office phone and e-mail.

There is a variety of options to communicate with Vistinomer's editorial team by using either email, online form, phone or social media.

https://vistinomer.mk/metodologija/

Vistinomer's website has a separate category explaining their methodology for each of the fact-check categories. 

Vistinomer seems to be using the same methodology relying on the highest journalistic standards. They are covering topics of high importance to the public.

Vistinomer uses the highest journalistic standards in all its fact-checks and analysis.

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Our readers are encouraged to send us claims to fact-check in various ways.

1. First and foremost, bellow every article we publish on the web site we include the following sentence:

Macedonian version:

Сите коментари и забелешки поврзани со овој и другите написи на Вистиномер, барањата за корекции и појаснувања, како и предлозите за проверка на изјавите на политичарите и ветувањата на политичките партии, можете да ги доставите преку овој формулар

English translation:

All comments and remarks regarding this and other Vistinomer articles, correction and clarification requests as well as suggestions for fact-checking politicians’ statements and political parties’ promises can be submitted by using this form.

The link at the end of the disclaimer leads to the contact form (https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/) our readers can use to suggest statements or political party promises to fact check. This disclaimer is also published right bellow the contact form to inform the readers about its' intended use.

2. Our readers can and are encouraged to also send us suggestions for fact checks at our various social media properties.

Here is the About field at our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/vistinomer/about/) explaining how to use the Facebook page to send us suggestions:

Macedonian version:

Анализираме ветувања на партиите, изјави на политичарите, написи во медиумите и на соц. мрежи. Предлози за анализа испратете во инбокс.

English translation:

We analyze political party election promises, politicians' statements, media articles and social media content. Send your suggestions in the Inbox.

Further information are also included in the Additional Information field, where the purpose and the goals of the web site are explained. the Additional Contact Info field includes our office phone, e-mail, as well as chat box link for direct Messenger communication.

Vistinomer encourages its users to propose claims throughout its website and social media.

Vistinomer has a separate page titled Corrections and Clarifications: http://vistinomer.mk/korektsii-i-pojasnuvana/

This page contains step-by-step explanation how to submit a corrections/clarifications request, who will receive it and who will decide on the merit of the submitted corrections/clarifications request, how and where will such request be published (if needed), as well as how to obtain the Vistinomer team answer on the corrections/clarifications request by e-mail (if needed).

This page is an excerpt of the Metamorphosis Foundation organization wide Corrections and Clarifications Policy. The page contains a link to the policy document, as well as Annex to the selection of articles of the Macedonian Constitution and laws upon whom this policy is created.

Metamorphosis Foundation organization wide Corrections and Clarifications Policy link: http://vistinomer.mk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Politika-za-korektsii-i-pojasnuvana.pdf

Metamorphosis Foundation organization wide Corrections and Clarifications Policy Annex link: http://vistinomer.mk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Aneks-1.pdf

Corrections and Clarifications have a separate page on Vistinomer's website with all necessary clarifications.

Corrections policy reflects basic journalistic principles and is reasonably explained.

Our correction policy provides our readers with powerful tool to make their voices heard whenever they think a mistake has been made. We are ready and willing to admit our mistakes and publish corrections at any time and even for small infractions or unclear language. But, the trends in correcting the media in North Macedonia are not going in the direction of publishing corrections.

We are witnessing instances where the wronged party doesn't ask for correction, but counterattacks using a different and friendly to  him/her on-line media in order to gain more exposure for a web site that is close to them, and not allow more exposure for the web site that published the content supposedly or really requiring a correction or clarification. This is especially the case with the politicians, which have a lot of influence in the media and can publish their response somewhere else, especially if they think their response will get more exposure by pursuing such strategy.

Also, persons or organizations thinking they were wronged by an outlet they don't care much about, will certainly not ask for a correction or clarification, because they simply don't want to provide additional clicks to that outlet by opening a discussion. They would simply write and publish their answer on their personal social media profile, especially if they have higher following or even without higher following but knowing that the right people, those following them, those they care about, will more likely see their correction/clarification or their counterattack if it is published on their own page or profile.

Another option wronged or supposedly wronged parties have is to submit, or more likely threaten to submit their correction/clarification request directly to the donors or partners of the fact-checking outlet in order to create the so called "chilling effect" and discourage the fact-checkers pursuing further fact checks on future disinformation. For them, putting this types of pressure by threatening to inform the donors and maybe create a climate of distrust or possible conditions for the donors to withdraw funding might be more beneficial than seeking a correction.

Also, instead of seeking a correction or clarification if a person or an organization thinks they were wronged, they might simply publish a threat of legal action on the grounds of fact-checkers committing "censorship" if their content has been marked according to the guidelines of a social media partner, sending a threatening pre-law suit letter written by their lawyer or even using the media to call for a public protest in front of the fact-checking outlet's offices.

Many of the instances mentioned above did happen to us.

On the other hand, we do receive more and more requests by the media for a withdrawal of a given rating to a social media content, after corrections have been made to that social media content and the associated/shared web site article (according to the rules established by the social media partner). Requests like these, where the media are correcting their content and then ask for a withdrawal of a given rating happen more and more often, and are the most plentiful, when it comes to communications regarding our fact-checks, but those are not public.

Here are three examples of a reaction/correction request submitted to Vistinomer last year:

1. We reviewed this news about a car ending up in a lake. The problem was that it was an event that happened 2 years prior. 

https://vistinomer.mk/vest-za-vozilo-padnato-vo-ohridskoto-ezero-stara-dve-godini-se-objavuva-kako-da-e-deneshna/

The web site contacted us asking to review our rating after they corrected the news and we did. Here is their corrected news, clearly titled with the word: "Correction"

https://www.facebook.com/tockamk/posts/pfbid02kJMCdtGvrFHmVz6UK1TYSjqefxAxWnrpkdkW2oxYV739x37GD4Bd5qrVVbwN2BpTl

2. We reviewed this new claiming that this buildings with windows from different apartments being so close is in the Capital Skopje. The problem is that this buildings have nothing to do with Skopje, but it is photographed in Irpin, Ukraine in 2018.

https://vistinomer.mk/fotografija-objavena-na-polski-i-ruski-sajtovi-prikazhana-kako-da-e-snimena-vo-skopje/?fbclid=IwAR0zgAVqqRQ-RT6EaX1r-OY0sSFn4pGIMKYr_BZjN2-jgZ-IQxcLCS8t8JM

Here is the article we reviewed (screenshot): https://vistinomer.mk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/fb-stanovi.png

The web site contacted us saying they corrected the mistake, and so we adjusted our rating. Here is their new article: https://www.facebook.com/Skopjeinfo.mk/posts/5268348616537045

3. We reviewed a claim stating that Poland will be the "first NATO member state to directly and officially enter the Ukraine conflict" rating it as false. https://vistinomer.mk/shpekulacija-e-deka-polska-kje-isprakja-vojnici-vo-ukraina/

Soon after that we received a Serbian language You Tube video link stating something like that, but not exactly that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd-HGGbROMo

Here was our answer: Sir/Madam, The fact that there are Polish persons fighting as a part of the Ukraine armed forces, does not mean they were sent by the Polish state or the army. There are volunteers from many countries serving in Ukraine armed forces, but they were not sent there by their governments or their armies. They are not under orders to go and fight in Ukraine, but they do that voluntarily. They cannot get order like that, since that does not correspond with the NATO policies. NATO will not establish no fly zone over Ukraine nevertheless send troops on the ground. If there was such an official policy of the Polish Government or any evidence that the polish authorities are sending troops to Ukraine, that would have been a major news and would have been published all over the media, since it would mean direct involvement of a NATO country on the ground. Also, this YouTube channel is known by spreading disinformation. We saw other claims on this channel before that ended up being false. 

(Note: the reader's video link and our response are at the bottom of our fact check)

In all provided examples, Vistinomer seems to respond with respect and take into account all aspects of the complaint.

The Contact-Impressum (masthead) section contains explicit information that Vistinomer is an IFCN Code of Principles Signatory.

https://vistinomer.mk/kontakt/

A badge with the IFCN logo and information that Vistinomer is an IFCN Code of Principles signatory is displayed on every page of the website within the right-hand column.

Other pages, including the correction page, reiterate this information. 

Vistinomer states within the contact page its relationship with IFCN and which steps can be taken if anyone suspects they are in breach of IFCN's code of principles.

Vistinomer is not a fact-checking unit of a media company, but part of a civil society organization/foundation