Newschecker is an independent fact-checking initiative of NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd. 

NC Media Networks is registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India, as a private company and its Corporate Identification Number (CIN) is U92490DL2019PTC353700. All details are available on the MCA website.

The Newschecker team works independently and exclusively on Newschecker and does not participate in any other activities of NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd. 

Editorial decisions are taken by the Managing Editor and senior editorial team members. The Directors or Publisher(s) do not control the same or have anything to do with the editorial process.

Set policies and procedures are observed and practiced uniformly for all fact checks, and we do not take sides on any matter/issue. 

Public interest, relevance, virality, and impact are the sole guiding principles that the Newschecker team relies upon for the purpose of fact-checking. Newschecker has fact-checking operations in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

These details are available to the public in our website's "About Us" section. https://newschecker.in/about-us/

NC Media Network’s website showcases Newschecker as one of the initiatives which is an independent fact-checking unit.

https://www.ncmn.in

    Attachments

• 1) Certificate of Incorporation
• 2) Declaration of Independence of Newschecker

Newschecker is an independent fact checking unit of of NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd., a registered private company.

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

NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd was registered as a legal entity with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in August 2019 though we began publishing fact checks a few months earlier.

NC Media Networks was founded as a new media organization for a new India. Our aim is to inform, educate, engage and empower, and fact-checking is an integral part of this mission.

With the advent of the internet in India, millions have come online for the very first time. Social media has become the dominant way for communication and news consumption, and in the process, it has also become a vehicle for misinformation. This is leading to polarization in Indian society, reducing trust in institutions and weakening the social fabric. In order for citizens to be alert and informed, they need access to authentic and trustworthy information. With this in mind, Newschecker was created as an independent initiative within the company. 

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

NC Media Networks has 3 directors, 25 full time team members, 3 consultants, and 3 trainees. Of this, 25 people work full-time independently and exclusively on Newschecker. 4 work outside India.

Within the Newschecker team, there is a Managing Editor, an Operations Manager, Editors, a Social Media Manager, a Fact Checking Conversational Interfaces Head, Designers, and an HR consultant. The remaining members are fact checkers who debunk misinformation in more than 13 languages. Details of the team are published on the website.

• India: https://newschecker.in/our-team/
• Bangladesh: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co/our-team/
• Nepal: https://nepal.newschecker.co/en/our-team

3. What different activities does your organization carry out?

NC Media Networks is engaged in these primary activities at the moment

1. Newschecker: An independent fact-checking initiative in 11 Indian languages, English and also Nepali, and Bangladeshi Bangla. We are third-party fact-checkers for Sharechat, Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok (outside India). We publish at least 10-15 fact checks a day in the languages and regions we operate in, keeping in mind public interest and virality. We also publish short fact-check videos in vertical formats which get thousands of views. We undertake media literacy and other special campaigns to spread awareness about misinformation and teach people how they can spot misinformation themselves.
2. The Signal: The Signal is now housed under Frontpage Media Technologies Private Limited in which NC Media Networks Private Limited is a shareholder. The Signal is a daily newsletter covering business, economy, and technology aimed at young working professionals and future leaders. 

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

For 2023, the goals of Newschecker are:

• Increase coverage to include more Indian and foreign languages from the current 11 Indian languages and expand to other countries
• Increase focus on and prioritise multimedia formats of publishing fact checks (audio, video, newsletters)
• Contribute to the regional alliance for combating misinformation
• Scale up our work on Fact-Checking On Demand As A Service (FCODAAS) through WhatsApp and other messaging apps
• Build a community of citizens who share and distribute our work and send us viral claims to fact check; organise training and other community-building activities.
• Make Newschecker’s social media pages a credible source of information including daily fact-checked news developments
• Contributing to a policy framework impacting fact-checkers in the region.

1. NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd started operations in 2019. The aim was to inform, educate, engage and empower, and fact checking. Newschecker was created as an independent initiative within the company, to give people access to authentic and trustworthy information.

 2. NC Media Networks has 3 directors, 25 employees, 3 consultants and 3 trainees. Of this, 22 people work full time independently and exclusively on Newschecker. Four of them work outside India. 3. The parent organisation publishes Newschecks in 11 Indian languages, English and also Nepali and Bangladeshi Bangla.

3. They are 3rd party fact checkers for Sharechat, Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok (outside India). Publish fact checks every day also publish videos if the factc checks and are involved in media literacy and other special campaigns to spread awareness about misinformation and teach people how they can spot misinformation themselves.

The parent company has shares in a company is involved with other publications ‘Signal’ and ‘Sway’ 

 4. Newschecker wants to publish in more Indian and foreign languages, apart from the 11 Indian languages and two international operations.

Use multimedia formats of publishing fact checks (audio, video, newsletters). Contribute to the regional alliance for combating misinformation

Increase Fact Checking On Demand As A Service (FCODAAS) through WhatsApp and other messaging apps

Build a community of citizens and also organize trainings and other community. They also want to contribute to the policy framwork that impacts fact checkers in the region.

Newschecker publishes around 10-15 articles daily in the languages and regions we are present in. We have attached a document consisting of fact checks in 2022. Over the course of this year, we have prioritised claims related to current affairs and trending topics, health, followed by those which directly impact human interest and welfare, followed by elections, political propaganda and polarising content, followed by messages related to scams and job hoaxes.

All our fact checks across languages are published on our website and archives are visible.

INDIA

• Hindi: https://newschecker.in/hi/fact-check-hi
• English: https://newschecker.in/fact-check
• Bangla: https://newschecker.in/bn/fact-checks
• Gujarati: https://newschecker.in/gu/fact-checks-gu
• Marathi: https://newschecker.in/mr/fact-check-mr
• Punjabi: https://newschecker.in/pa/fact-check-pa
• Tamil: https://newschecker.in/ta/fact-check-ta
• Malayalam: https://newschecker.in/ml/fact-check-ml
• Urdu: https://newschecker.in/ur/fact-check-ur
• Kashmiri: https://newschecker.in/ka/fact-check-ka
• Kannada: https://newschecker.in/kn/fact-check-kn
• Bhojpuri: https://newschecker.in/bh/fact-check-bh

NEPAL

• Nepali: https://nepal.newschecker.co/fact-check-ne
• English: https://nepal.newschecker.co/en/fact-check

BANGLADESH

• Bengali: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co/fact-checks-bn/
• English: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co/en/

The applicant has published more than the required number of fact checks required for compliance and in multiple languages too.

The applicant complies with this requirement. Most of the stories they debunk have an impact on society and are in the public interest .

We do not have any commercial relationships with the Government(s), political parties, and/or politicians. We do not enter into any kind of a commercial working relationship/contract with any of these entities for any unit under NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd.

Our non-partisanship policy can be found in our Code of Principles Statement

https://newschecker.in/code-of-principles/

All employees who join NC Media Networks, whether working on Newschecker or not, sign a Code of Conduct which also seeks to maintain their non-partisanship. (Attached)

Our latest financial statements are available on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website under CIN U92490DL2019PTC353700.

https://www.mca.gov.in 

There does not seem to be any political influence on the stories selected or the way in which they are written. Stories from all sides of the spectrum are covered. The fact checks do not carry a bias. They have stated they do not receive any financial support from the state, politicians, or political parties.

Not applicable basis Criteria 1.5. We do not receive funding from the state, government, politicians, or political parties. 

They have stated they not have any financial dependence on the state or political actors.

Attached are links to 11 facts with explanations. We follow a uniform process and methodology and check with sources while fact-checking all sides.

The fact checks cover a variety of subjects. All claims are checked using similar standards regardless of which side makes the claim.

We follow a very robust methodology of fact-checking with multiple checks and balances in place. Details about the same can be found on our website here: https://newschecker.in/our-methodology/

We abide by a very strict code of principles, not just as an organisation but as individuals too. Our Code of Principles can be found here: https://newschecker.in/code-of-principles/

The methodology followed for the selection of claims is clearly explained. The claims are selected based on a few factors. They say claims that impact health, public safety, law and order, propaganda and divisive content are prioritized.They also look out for statements made and released by governments, politicians, political parties, public personalities, institutions, news media and social media platforms.

India

• English: https://newschecker.in/
• Hindi: https://newschecker.in/hi
• Marathi: https://newschecker.in/mr
• Punjabi: https://newschecker.in/pa
• Gujarati: https://newschecker.in/gu
• Tamil: https://newschecker.in/ta
• Urdu: https://newschecker.in/ur
• Bengali: https://newschecker.in/bn
• Malayalam: https://newschecker.in/ml
• Kannada: https://newschecker.in/kn
• Kashmiri: https://newschecker.in/ka
• Bhojpuri: https://newschecker.in/bh

Nepal

• Nepali: https://nepal.newschecker.co
• English: https://nepal.newschecker.co/en

Bangladesh

• Bengali: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co
• English: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co/en/

The applicant mentions the sources used in the fact checking process clearly. There is no evidence that sources that could influence their findings. They use digital tools like Google Reverse Image Search, Reveye, Tineye, Bing, Exif, and google lens etc. They also contact sources and speak to them, where possible as part of the process

India

• English: https://newschecker.in/
• Hindi: https://newschecker.in/hi
• Marathi: https://newschecker.in/mr
• Punjabi: https://newschecker.in/pa
• Gujarati: https://newschecker.in/gu
• Tamil: https://newschecker.in/ta
• Urdu: https://newschecker.in/ur
• Bengali: https://newschecker.in/bn
• Malayalam: https://newschecker.in/ml
• Kannada: https://newschecker.in/kn
• Kashmiri: https://newschecker.in/ka
• Bhojpuri: https://newschecker.in/bh

Nepal

• Nepali: https://nepal.newschecker.co
• English: https://nepal.newschecker.co/en

Bangladesh

• Bengali: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co
• English: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co/en/

There is no evidence of the organisation’s affiliation to any political party.

All team members of NC Media Networks sign a Code of Conduct which is a part of the Offer for Employment and is in effect throughout the period of employment. A copy of the same has been attached.

Our team members do not take any sides on an issue and do not advocate any cause. We maintain strict neutrality in our fact checks and on social media.

Our Code of Principles also highlights our non-partisanship policy.

https://newschecker.in/code-of-principles/

The applicant states its non partisan policy clearly. Employees are expected to avoid public expression or demonstration of their political views. They also need to sign a letter agreeing to the non partisanship policy.

We have a robust and uniform methodology to conduct fact checks. It can be found on our website here: https://newschecker.in/our-methodology/

In every fact check that we publish, through the body of the fact check we highlight our sources along with the details at the end of the fact check. An example can be seen here:

https://newschecker.in/fact-check/viral/jp-nadda-isnt-entirely-wrong-about-95-work-done-in-aiims-madurai-but-he-is-certainly-wrong-about-the-money-spent-so-far

The applicant identifies the sources and evidence in the claims debunked. Sources are linked and referenced. The fact checks are replicable.

The fact checked stories use primary sources where possible, media reports and digital sources in the process of fact checking. Relevant sources are hyperlinked.

The applicant’s fact checks are compliant with this requirement they identify the sources and often use multiple sources.

The sources are clearly identified so the reader can conclude if there is any influence of a source on the story.

Newschecker is an independent fact-checking initiative and a unit of NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd, headquartered in Delhi, India. NC Media Networks is registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs(MCA), Government of India as a private company, and its Corporate Identification Number (CIN) is U92490DL2019PTC353700. All our details, including our latest financial returns, are available on the MCA website. NC Media Networks is also recognised as a startup under the Startup India Program of the Indian government's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

Newschecker fact checks in English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Kannada, Kashmiri, and Malayalam in India; in Nepali and English in Nepal and in Bengali and English in Bangladesh

More details can be found here: https://newschecker.in/about-us/

Attachments

• Certificate of Incorporation
• Declaration of Independence of Newschecker

Factchecker is a part of NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd. They are a dedicated unit that works on fact checking. They do third party fact-checker for a few social media and messaging platforms and receive a fee for our services but do not accept funding or work with politicians/political parties and/or organizations linked to political parties. They have also received a COVID 19 Flash Grant from the IFCN to scale our COVID 19 fact-checking work. They have listed out the others who contributed to more than 5 % of their income. They are also recognised as a startup by the Startup India Program.

Details regarding our funding and ownership can be found here:

https://newschecker.in/about-us/

Additionally, NC Media Networks is registered with the CIN U92490DL2019PTC353700 and details of ownership, directors and financial statements can be found at https://www.mca.gov.in. 

The applicant is compliant with this requirement. The website clearly shows the ownership.

NC Media Networks Pvt Ltd was founded by Rajneil Rajnath Kamath. He is a full-time director and looks after the day-to-day administration and management, technology products, new initiatives, and programs of the company and does not participate in the editorial decisions of Newschecker.

Anirudh Balakrishnan and Rajnath Kamath are the other two directors of the NC Media Networks.

Editorial control and decisions reside with our Managing Editor, Ruby Dhingra, who is assisted by a team of editors and project heads. Fact Checkers identify claims in their respective languages and share it with the team explaining the evidence supporting or countering any given claim, its impact, and why it should be fact-checked. Daily morning and evening meetings are conducted to this effect, led by the Managing Editor and attended by all editors and fact-checkers to discuss all claims found by the team via social media monitoring as well as those received from our readers through email, WhatsApp tip line, or our social media accounts.

Details of our team and structure can be found here:

• India: https://newschecker.in/our-team/
• Bangladesh: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co/our-team/
• Nepal: https://nepal.newschecker.co/en/our-team

The oraganisational structure is clearly mentioned on the website.

The role of each member of the team is mentioned on these pages:

• India: https://newschecker.in/our-team/
• Bangladesh: https://bangladesh.newschecker.co/our-team/
• Nepal: https://nepal.newschecker.co/en/our-team

The biographies of the fact checking team are available on the website.

We encourage and value reader feedback, comments, and complaints. At the end of every fact check, we encourage readers to contact us by giving our WhatsApp number, email ID, and Contact Us page link: https://newschecker.in/contact-us/

The same is mentioned on the Newschecker website footer.

Additionally, every page of our website has a floating “+” button where users can submit a claim to fact check, a complaint, or feedback. It can be seen in the bottom right corner of the following screenshots (attached).

In addition to all this, each team member's public social media accounts are mentioned along with their bio on the website in the “Our Team” section with hyperlinks that lead to their Twitter profiles through which they can be contacted

https://newschecker.in/our-team/

At the end of every article, a bio of the author of the article is also published which has further links to at least one of the public social media accounts provided by the author for readers to write to them (Screenshot attached). 

Contact details are clearly provided on the website.

Newschecker has a robust and consistent methodology for all fact checks. More details can be found here: https://newschecker.in/our-methodology/. The same is available in different languages on language-specific pages (for example in Hindi https://newschecker.in/hi/our-methodology , in Bengali : https://newschecker.in/bn/our-methodology and so on)

The methodology is clearly explained on the website.

The claims are selected without any bias. They prioritise claims on health, public safety, law and order, propaganda and divisive content, follow social media, statements by public figures, and claims sent by readers.

The applicant explains the claims and the sources for the claim. The fact checks provide explanations for the evidence­ they use to counter the claim.

They have a process where claims are fact checked and all evidence is considered and are of the same standard.

Where possible they have contacted people who have made the claim unless the claims are on line.

We encourage and value claims from readers as well as feedback, comments, and complaints. At the end of every fact check, we encourage readers to contact us by giving our WhatsApp tipline number, email ID, and Contact Us page link (Screenshot attached).

The same is mentioned on the Newschecker website footer (Screenshot attached).

Additionally, every page of our website has a floating “+” button where users can submit a claim to fact check, a complaint, or feedback as attached.

We also have a WhatsApp tipline number (+91 9999499044), where we offer Fact-Checking On-Demand as a free service and an email ID (checkthis@newschecker.in) where readers can mail us anything they want us to fact-check.

We do more than 20 unique fact-checks daily via queries sent to us by WhatsApp users on the tip line number mentioned above and also include that information in the body of related fact-check articles. Here are some screenshots of the conversation through the tipline.

Users can also reach out to us on our social media handles:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newscheckerin
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/newscheckerin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newschecker.in/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/newschecker/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/newscheckerin
• Sharechat: https://b.sharechat.com/xw8pnMSJX4
• Moj: https://mojapp.in/@newscheckerin
• Josh: https://share.myjosh.in/profile/4384f69f-4ad5-49d3-9dd3-a00978290240
• Koo: https://www.kooapp.com/profile/newschecker

The website gives details for readers to send in claims to check. They have a helpline number, a whatsapp contact as well as social media handles and email for this.

Our Complaints and Correction Policy can be found here

https://newschecker.in/corrections-and-complaints

The corrections policy is clearly listed on the website.

Our Complaints and Correction Policy can be found here

https://newschecker.in/corrections-and-complaints

The policy clearly states the process to be taken up if there are any mistakes. They also explain the steps to be followed and the way they will go about it.

Newschecker did not issue any corrections in 2022 as no complaints or requests for corrections were received.

To demonstrate how Newschecker adhered to this in the past, here is an example of a correction that was issued in 2021.

This was pointed out to us by the admin of a Facebook page called Brave India. We took note of this immediately and appropriate changes were made after an internal investigation. The portal had written to us about how the scope of their article only included the reaction of Karnataka's CM to an alleged comment made by the Kerala CM. The alleged statement by Kerala CM was fabricated and hence found its way into our article. Once they pointed out that the details in the article also clarified what we had found in our fact-check, the embedded post of the platform was removed from the copy and a correction was issued and added at the end of the copy a screenshot of which is provided (Attached). You can also read the full article here: https://newschecker.in/ml/fact-check-ml/karnataka-border-villages 

There is a Correction clause to our Terms and Conditions which can be found here: https://www.ncmn.in/terms-and-conditions

The applicant says they did not issue any corrections in 2022 as no complaints or requests for corrections were received.The applicant is compliant and has provided examples of the corrections in accordance to the stated policy from the previous years.

We mention this in our Corrections and Complaints page, as well as on the Complaints form page.

https://newschecker.in/corrections-and-complaints

There is a link to the IFCN corrections and complaints page

NC Media Network's first initiative was Newschecker, and it is set up as an independent team under the legal entity that is required as per the IFCN Code of Principles.

There is a Correction clause to our Terms and Conditions which can be found here: https://www.ncmn.in/terms-and-conditions

Not applicable. The parent company has interests in publishing a business news letter and a marketing agency.