NepalFactCheck.org is a joint initiative of the non-profit non-governmental organization - Center for Media Research – Nepal (registered with Nepal Government in Kathmandu Registration #636 and Social Welfare Council Registration #32438) and the first blog in the Nepali language, MySansar.com. CMR-Nepal is also a tax-exempt non-profit non-governmental organization equivalent to a US Public Charity (NGOSource).

Nepal's regulations states that blog sites need not to be registered.

Our about us page, available in Nepali and English, sets out information about the organization's legal status. https://nepalfactcheck.org/about-us/ 

The applicant is compliant with this criterion. Its "About Us" (https://nepalfactcheck.org/about-us/) page identifies itself as a joint initiative of a legally registered parent organization. Attached documents as well as original registration certificates shared with the assessor also testify to its valid status.

1. Our fact-checking operation started in March 2020 to fight viral misinformation on social media and media. It was started as a joint initiative of Center for Media Research - Nepal (CMR-Nepal) and mysansar.com - the first blog of Nepali language - because we felt the need for fact-checking initiative as a lot of viral misinformation was spreading on coronavirus.

2. There are two full-time staff (fact-check editor and fact-checker), seven misinformation monitors (one in each province of Nepal) and a part-time assistant researcher.

There is also an advisory editor and project head, who are volunteers.

3. NepalFactCheck.org conducts fact-checking trainings with CMR-Nepal. CMR-Nepal carries out various other activities relevant to media and media policy research; and journalists training. Mysansar.com runs a blog.

4. Our goal for the fact-checking operation over the coming years is to expand the fact-checking base to the volunteers fact-checkers by providing training to them so as to fact-check as much misinformation as possible. We are also expanding our fact-checking to provincial levels.

The applicant complies with this criterion. 

Since establishment on March 2020, we have published 199 fact checks (the number if visible in homepage).

We have published following number of fact-checks in past six months:

August 2022: 3 fact-checks

September 2022: 3 fact-checks

October 2022: 4 fact-checks

November 2022: 4 fact-checks

December 2022: 6 fact-checks

January 2023: 5 fact checks

There is inconsistency in the number of fact-checks per month because of the lack of fact-checkable information. We constantly monitor media and social media for viral misinformation (we define viral information as either those posts having more than 10 shares/retweets or generating public debate/discourse in social media). For misinformation which we feel do not require fact-checking (such as news of a Nepali nurse arrested in Australia or a viral video stating the PM was thrown stones at), we publish them as #quickfactcheck on our social media accounts. 

The applicant has published  an average of 4.1 fact checks a week over the course of six months prior to the date of application. The applicant is from a country that has so far only one verified IFCN signatory.

A total of 25 fact checks were published during four months prior to this assessment. Most fact checks concern topics in the news or viral posts. There were 12 posts primarily about governance and national politics, looking into the veracity of a public announcement by the government, claims by political leaders relating to electoral issues, judicial and legislative procedures, the national anthem, government approval of a university in one of the remote parts of the country, among others. There were six fact checks on sports, surrounding topics in the news at that time – the World Cup and a scandal involving a national cricket star. The applicant also published 3 fact checks on topics with implications for transportation safety/public infrastructure. There was 1 post each on a claim about public IQ, banking regulation, expiry date of cooking gas, and news scripting. Those spoke to consumer concerns. In general, the posts relate to one or the other public interest issues, however, fact checks appeared to cover a limited range of public interest issues or topics, of significant impact. 

No such relationship with the state, politicians, or political parties.

We have received funding from the Open Society Foundation, the Asia Foundation, the Center for Media, Democracy and Society (at Central European University), The Asia Foundation, and the Meta Company. We have received no funding from any state or political actors ever. 

The applicant does explain its apolitical and non-partisan status. Funding sources and support received from non-governmental organizations or agencies have been clearly identified. 

We do not receive funding from a local or foreign state or political source. 

The applicant has clarified that they do not receive funding from local or foriegn state or political sources.

1. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/12/sandeep-lamichhane-dharauti/

2. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/12/bhim-upadhyaya-disinfo/

3. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/12/argentina-nepal-flag-burn-factcheck/

4. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/12/capital-change-misinfo/

5. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/12/nemakipa/

6. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/11/chitwan-matganana/

7. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/11/fake-screenshot/ 

8. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/11/naya-patrika-misleading/ 

9. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/11/election-holiday/ 

10. https://nepalfactcheck.org/2022/10/prachanda-viral-video/ 

The above 10 links of fact-checks not only followed the standard fact-checking methodology and high standards but also shows our non-partisanship as they are representative of different sides or political parties or leaders. In all those fact-checks, our conclusions are based on what evidence that we were able to publicly display. 

A randomized sample of fact checks done during the past year included claims made mostly by social media users, and on a few occasions, by legacy news outlets. Posts mostly concerned political/electoral issues, sports, court proceedings, foreign affairs, etc. The applicant often cited evidence from official websites (district court, government ministries, the Election Commission, the Federation of Nepali Journalists), and other sources such as the national constitution, national news agency, magazines or periodicals, online archives of newspapers, etc. When claims involved photographs or videos, it relied on online search engines or reverse image search. Often, a single claim (hardly contending claims), propagated via different social media channels, was checked via available multiple authoritative, authentic sources. The applicant followed the same process for every fact check, laying the context of the fact check, followed by details on the claim(s), the claimant(s), and the fact(s). A fact check concluded with a quick bulleted summary, based on the contents of the evidence.

We clearly state our procedure of select issues to fact-check here: https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-fact-check-procedure/ 

NepalFactCheck.org is committed to neutrality and apolitical, and all staff sign our editorial independence and impartiality policy (also available in our website).

it does not agree or disagree with any political principle or political group or their opinions. It does not intend to blame anyone but rather want to create awareness around disinformation, misinformation, and fake news among media, social media users, and the general public.

Editorial Independence and Impartiality Policy

NepalFactCheck.org’s works are based on human rights, liberal democracy, and responsible media. We are committed to remaining independent and free from any other biases.

The editor, fact-checkers, disinformation monitors, researchers and other affiliated to NepalFactCheck.org have expressed committment not to impact fact-checking works and products by any biases. They have also expressed committment not to involve themselves in activities or make statement that undermines the impartiality of the fact-checking works.

They all have also committed to adhere by the Code of Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

NepalFactCheck.org doesn’t give support – directly or indirectly to any political group or one-sided group. We do not take side based on the political ideology or controversial or debated issues; and it is editorially independent.

Although CMR-Nepal funds its operations under projects and provides workstations for fact-checkers, the editorial team is independent of CMR-Nepal or mysansar.com.

To ensure editorial independence as well as make the editorial team accountable, its works are supervised by a five-member advisory committee (in which at least three members are independent of CMR-Nepal and/or mysansar.com). The committee receives reports from the editor, analyzes complaints from the public, and is responsible for the assessment of its work as well as the performance of the editor.

The applicant has published a statement on its website describing the procedures in selecting the claims and the reach and importance of claims selected to check https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-fact-check-procedure/. Selection is based on editorial judgement on "whether the information is viral or how likely the information impact people’s right or democracy or have a negative impact on the general public or society." In order that fact checks do not unduly concentrate on any one side, an indepedent oversight team evaluates the fact checks on a quarterly basis. 

The applicant often used authoritative sources (government websites, court documents, professional organizations, etc.); the randomized sample of fact checks included no partisan source with political or commercial interest. My review of its fact checks during the past year mostly included claims in social media posts and, on a few occasions, by in legacy media outlets. They show no pronounced cases of a source’s commercial relationships. Individual social media users were simply identified as “…, a Facebook user” or “…, a YouTuber”. Individual news outlets were identified solely by their titles or names. Given that many news outlets in Nepal are openly partisan, the applicant could strive to be a bit more specific in identifying their political interests, when possible, by ownership, location, or party-affiliation, etc. For instance, “a newspaper owned/edited by…”, “a news portal run by…”,  “a mouthpiece of the government”, "a publication close to the opposition party”, "a left- or -right-leaning publication”, etc.

Based on the review of fact checks published over the past year, no evidence of such partisan affiliation could be found. It has fact checked claims from across the political spectrum.

The page in our website that sets out introduction and editorial and non-partisanship policy as well as how we ensure that: https://nepalfactcheck.org/about-us/ 

The FAQs page in our website that also sets out our policy of non-partisanship, and how we meet that criteria: https://nepalfactcheck.org/faqs/ 

In the randomized samples analyzed, the applicant often used screenshots of relevant posts by claimants. It also often used hyperlinks to significant evidence (websites, social media accounts, online archives, documents, photographs, videos, etc.). Many of these sources appear replicable. No instance of unidentified source was found. 

The applicant used relevant primary sources, most of the time. It often triangulated different authentic sources. Sometimes, when documental sources were not available (for instance, in verifying a candidate’s poll lead in the Chitwan-2 constituency), the applicant conducted first-hand interview with an election observer. 

The applicant, in general, checked all key elements of a claim, often citing more than one named source of evidence. 

NepalFactCheck.org is the fact-checking section of the Center for Media Research - Nepal which is a non-profit non-governmental organization duly registered with the government of Nepal.

The applicant is a fact-checking section or unit of a joint-initiative parent organization. It has a page here https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-funders/ detailing each source of funding for its previous financial years. 

https://nepalfactcheck.org/about-us/ 

NepalFactCheck.org is a joint initiative of the non-profit Center for Media Research – Nepal (registered with Nepal Government in Kathmandu Registration #636 and Social Welfare Council Registration #32438) and the first blog in the Nepali language, MySansar.com. Nepal's regulations state blogs are not required to be registered to operate.

Funding of NepalFactCheck.org is clearly indicated at https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-funders/ 

The applicant is compliant. The About page has a statement on the ownership https://nepalfactcheck.org/about-us/

https://nepalfactcheck.org/about-us/ states that: 

Although CMR-Nepal funds its operations under projects and provides workstations for fact-checkers, the editorial team is independent of CMR-Nepal or mysansar.com.

To ensure editorial independence as well as make the editorial team accountable, its works are supervised by a five-member advisory committee (in which at least three members are independent of CMR-Nepal and/or mysansar.com). The committee receives reports from the editor, analyzes complaints from the public, and is responsible for the assessment of its work as well as the performance of the editor.

The applicant provides statements on the organizational structure and the nature of internal editorial supervision https://nepalfactcheck.org/about-us/ 

https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-team/ is the page where the key members of the fact-checking teams are identified with their professional biographies.

The applicant is compliant. It sets out the professional bios of the team members https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-team/ 

The page where our audience can communicate back for fact-check request or complaint https://nepalfactcheck.org/request_factcheck/

There is also a page where encourage our audience to join our webinar or fact-check training: https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-fact-checking-training/ 

The applicant provides an HTML email form for users to submit requests for fact checks as well for complaints and general queries.  

Our page on our fact-check procedure explains this: https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-fact-check-procedure/ states

The fact-checking procedure of NepalFactCheck.org:

Receiving information for fact-checks

Our fact-checkers monitor the content on mainstream media and social media daily.

We also receive fact-check requests from our audience through email, social media, Viber group, and the form on the website.

Selection of material

Fact-checkers or editor selects material for fact-checks based on the following criteria:

Is it necessary to fact-check the information? (editorial consideration)

Can it be fact-checked based on available facts? (technical consideration)

Is there a fact-checker and resources to fact-check? (administrative consideration)

Normally the selection is a subjective analysis of whether the information is viral or how likely the information impact people’s right or democracy or have a negative impact on the general public or society.

We have a limited number of fact-checkers and limited resources therefore the fact-checkers do their best to fact-check as much as possible.

The fact-checking process

Once selected, the fact-checkers normally follow the following process to fact-check:

Finding the primary source of information

Finding content on which the information is based (audio, video, document, data, or report)

Establishing the authenticity of proofs (whether audio, video, document, fact, or report are correct and unmodified)

Additional research (expert, concerned people, and publications)

Normally, all or some of the following tools are used: internet search, advanced search, reverse image search, meta-analysis, information from experts, information from concerned person or institution or group, and library search.

We use various internet tools and software to fact-check.

Verification of fact-check

The editor (or another fact-checker) verifies the fact-check and decides on whether to publish or not to publish that fact-checks.

We usually don’t publish fact-checks of information that are found to be factual unless it’s contested in social media or elsewhere.

If the information is found to be correct, and there is no debate around it, we decide not to publish the fact-check.

Writing the fact-check

Fact-checker writes the fact-checks with all the proofs (with a link whenever possible) and conclusion on categorization. Our four categories and their meaning are here.

Publication of fact-check

Only the editor publishes the fact-check.

Correction Policy

We are committed to publishing correct and factual information as far as possible.

We are ready to public correction in a transparent manner as soon as we are aware of any mistake.

So far, we haven’t corrected any our publication leading to change in the categorization and we are committed to remaining so. 

The applicant is compliant. This page explains the procedures https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-fact-check-procedure/ 

The applicant selected claims based on the reach (immediacy of viral social media posts, news articles in legacy outlets, etc.) and significance (prominence of people involved, most often political leaders, public officials, personalities/celebrities, and the currency or public import of the issues). The applicant could, however, do more in explaining the reason for choosing a particular claim it checks. 

The randomized samples show that the applicant verified both sides of the claim. Fact checks that turned out to be misleading were more likely to cite such evidences. 

Most fact checks by the applicant involved specific and singular claims, sometimes propagated through different channels, but most often via social media posts. The applicant appears consistent in the quality of sources used to assess the merits of evidences on claims made, regardless of who made the claim. It often used authoritative primary sources and sometimes, first-hand interviews.

The review of a randomized sample of fact checks included online claims only. In at least one occasion, the applicant did a first-hand interview to gather corroborating evidence. 

We have clearly marked link stating 'Fact-Check Request' on top of our homepage which leads to a page where there is a form: https://nepalfactcheck.org/request_factcheck/ 

Most of our fact-checks carries an image (attached) at the bottom that states audience can send in request to fact-check and includes QR code and number to join our WhatsApp and Viber group as well as email address to contact.

The Twitter and Facebook page of NepalFactCheck carries banner image encouraging audience to email us anything they want to be fact-checked. 

What's fact-checkable or not, we have mentioned them at https://nepalfactcheck.org/faqs/ and in our procedure: https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-fact-check-procedure/

The applicant is compliant. It encourages usersto send in claims to check https://nepalfactcheck.org/request_factcheck/. The procedures explain what facts can be checked or cannot be checked https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-fact-check-procedure/ 

We have our correction and complaints policy here: https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-correction-policy/

The corrections policy is clearly stated here https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-correction-policy/

The applicant's corrections policy (https://nepalfactcheck.org/our-correction-policy/) covers minor errors such as spelling, langauge, style that have no overall impact on categorization. Such errors noted at the end of the related post. Major errors (including in headlines) are also corrected, and they are marked in the headline itself and published on the front page as well as re-shared on the applicant's social media platforms.

Since our establishment, we have received no request for correction.

The applicant has stated it has received no correction request yet. 

We are not signatory of IFCN. When we become one, we plan to use the IFCN logo and text with a link informing users they can complaint about us to IFCN in the homepage and all pages of fact-check.

Not applicable at this stage of the application process. If and when the application is accepted by IFCN, the applicant should make the necessary update on its website with relevant links. 

We are NOT fact-checking unit of a media company.

Not applicable. The applicant is not a fact-checking unit of a media company.