Please see section Kako delamo Razkrinkavanje.si (How we work at Razkrinkavanje.si): https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje

The applicant is a distinct section within a legally registered organization, and details of this are easily found on its website.

AD1

Razkrinkavanje.si, a daily fact-checking project, was developed by Oštro, a non-profit center for investigative journalism in the Adriatic region. We launched the project on 6 May 2019 in order to raise the quality of media content and warn the public about misinformation, fake news and just bad journalism that is distributed by the media, elected officials, political parties and interest groups.

Razkrinkavanje.si also functions as an incubator for future investigative journalists because we believe that fact-checking is the best training ground for investigative minds and the cultivation of high professional standards. We work with the Faculty of Social Sciences (University of Ljubljana) to bring students to Oštro’s fact-checking project for learning-by-doing opportunities.

Oštro is one of the founding members of the regional fact-checking network See Check that verifies information published by media in countries of the former Yugoslavia.

In September 2021, Oštro joined the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO).

In October 2021, Oštro established its sister investigative center in Croatia. The small team publishes under www.portal-ostro.hr and investigates topics that are in the public interest of people living in the Adriatic region.

AD2

Oštro currently has a core team of 5 editors/journalists, including the editor in chief, and 4 journalism students/young reporters. Oštro’s editorial structure is flexible enough to allow room for continuous learning.

The newsroom consists of a team of:

Core editors:

Anuška Delić is the founder and editor in chief at Oštro. She is also a regional editor with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Klara Škrinjar is an editor and journalist.

Maja Čakarić is a social media editor and journalist.

Matej Zwitter is an editor and journalist.

Katarina Bulatović is the editor of Razkrinkavanje.si, and journalist.

Oštro currently works with four journalism students: Žana Erznožnik, Samo Demšar, Zala Čas, Ema Škapin.

AD3

Oštro is a unique center for investigative journalism in the Adriatic region. It nurtures investigative and data journalism, champions the “right to know” as one of the fundamental human rights, and contributes to the cultivation of future generations of journalists.

We investigate topics in the public interest of people in the Adriatic region and its neighbourhood. Aside from investigating crime, corruption and environmental topics, Oštro runs the only regular media fact-checking project in Slovenia, Razkrinkavanje.si.

Razkrinkavanje.si provides regular analysis of Slovenian media content with zero tolerance for the phenomenon of fake news and disinformation. We also fact-check statements by those who enjoy power and influence in our society. We couple the most important fact-checking stories with visual commentary by illustrators in order to critically evaluate current misinformation campaigns through illustration.

Currently, we are the only media publisher in Slovenia, for profit or non-profit, that offers a membership program through which we aim to develop a community with our readers by including them in some of Oštro’s activities and by inviting them to public editorial meetings.

Oštro’s stories are widely and independently sourced according to the highest professional and ethical standards. Our workflow also includes an internal fact-checking process.

Oštro is a member of the Organized Crime and Reporting Project (OCCRP), and of the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN), therefore we regularly reach beyond Slovenia as we conduct cross-border investigations.

AD4

We will continue to provide verified information about important current events and topics that are in the public interest.

In the coming year there will be four different elections in Slovenia, including parliamentary and presidential. Our section Parlamentarka where we fact-check statements by Members of Parliament and other holders of political power will focus on verifying statements by candidates, new parliamentary members and cabinet ministers. This will be in coordination with Oštro’s political tracking project Obljuba dela dolg.

Razkrinkavanje.si will continue to function as an incubator for future muckrakers and offer new generations of journalists learning-by-doing opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills they cannot acquire in college or in Slovenian mainstream media.

We will also organize public editorial meetings to promote the principles of non-profit journalism and build our readers’ community.There we will discuss our previous investigations, local misinformation campaigns and especially topics that are important to our members and the general public.

It is set up exclusively for the purpose of fact-checking.

Between August 2021 and January 2022, we published 38 fact-checking stories. Some stories contained several fact-checks. On average we published two stories per week.

The applicant has published an average of 1.3 fact-checks a week over the course of the six months prior to the date of application.

All of the applicant’s fact-checks focus on claims related to issues that, in the view of the IFCN, could have an impact on the welfare or well-being of individuals, the general public, and society.

Almost a third of the fact-checks focus on important issues around coronavirus.

Oštro is a non-profit and independent media organisation. We have no relationship to the state, politicians or political parties in Slovenia or any other country. Involvement in political parties and advocacy organizations is in conflict with professional media ethics and standards. Oštro is committed to the highest professional standards.

In 2019 Oštro’s fact-checking project Razkrinkavanje.si was co-financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia that runs an annual media co-financing programme. Between 2020 and 2021 we received small project support from the European Commission’s Representation in Slovenia.

Oštro publishes its financing data at Ostro.si in Slovenian and English.

Please see an attached file about sources of funds.

According to the applicant's statement, Razkrinkavanje was partially funded by state institutions. However, this has no visible impact on the independency of applicant's work and editorial output.

https://www.ostro.si/en/center

The applicant provides a statement on its site how it ensures there are no influences on the findings of its reports.

Our selection below shows that the team at Razkrinkavanje.si tackles problematic media content regardless of which media published it, that we reach beyond political affiliations of some news outlets in Slovenia. No publication or statement is excluded from consideration, however, generally preference is given to media with greater reach and consequently greater social responsibility.

The fact-checking stories linked below also demonstrate that we select statements by politicians and officials and other people who enjoy influence and power in society regardless of their personal or political beliefs. What drives our selection is primarily the question of whether fact-checking of a news story or statement is in the public interest, and, secondly, if we can provide a thorough, verifiable and exact analysis of what was stated.

We give priority to primary sources whenever feasible and possible to ensure that our fact-checking analysis is based only on credible and verifiable sources of information, such as regulations, official documents, reports or data. When needed we get the opinions of experts or industry professionals with verifiable professional references.

We always provide evidence in the form of documents, images or links in the fact-checking stories we publish, and without fault respect the right of reply before publication for all subjects of our information verifying efforts.

Finally, the editorial process at Razkrinkavanje.si is multi-level and quite complex in order to ensure that the fact-checking analysis we publish respects the highest professional and ethical standards, that it is written in an approachable manner in order to allow as many readers as possible to quickly identify with a topic and understand the inner workings of misinformation campaigns.

These are examples of non-partisan work of Razkrinkavanje.si:

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/sloveniji-pripada-vec-cepiva-moderne-kot-ga-je-narocila

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/slovenske-osnovne-sole-so-bile-zaprte-skoraj-dvakrat-dlje-od-avstrijskih

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/lani-ni-bilo-hospitaliziranih-za-tretjino-vec-mladostnikov

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/trajanje-misije-evropskega-parlamenta-ustrezalo-mednarodnopravni-praksi

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/slovenija-po-ohranjanju-delovnih-mest-med-epidemijo-ni-v-vrhu-eu

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/zadolzevanje-te-in-prejsnje-vlade-ni-primerljivo

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/evropski-delegirani-tozilci-delujejo-le-v-svoji-drzavi

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/novinarji-zaradi-negotovih-razmer-zapuscajo-sta

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/cepljenih-v-sloveniji-ni-skoraj-milijon-in-pol

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/stranka-nsi-ni-trikrat-dvignila-pokojnin

The applicant fact-checks using the same high standards of evidence and judgement for equivalent claims regardless of who made the claim.

The applicant does not concentrate its fact-checking on any one side. There is also a statement on its website of how it selects claims to check, and it always considers the reach and importance of claims it selects to check.

The applicant clearly states the position of the sources mentioned in the fact-checks, though this does not affect the evidence applicant provides, which is always reliable.

The applicant is not as an organization affiliated with nor declares or shows support for any party, any politician or political candidate, nor does it advocate for or against any policy positions on any issues save for transparency and accuracy in public debate.

Razkrinkavanje.si is committed to the professional principles which are set out in the Code of Ethics for Journalists of Slovenia and Munich Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists. We are committed to an internal code of ethics which we published in September 2020.

Please see bottom of the page: https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje and https://www.ostro.si/en/code-of-conduct

Razkrinkavanje.si is committed to the professional principles which are set out in the Code of Ethics for Journalists of Slovenia and Munich Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists. We are committed to an internal code of ethics which we published in September 2020.

Please see bottom of the page: https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje and https://www.ostro.si/en/code-of-conduct

As stated in Oštro’s Code of Conduct “Oštro is committed to professional journalistic standards and takes no sides, unless extraordinary circumstances so require.”

Oštro has also “zero tolerance towards anyone who would attempt to influence the work of its editor in chief, editors or journalists, or who would try to thwart their work. Oštro discloses actual and also apparent conflicts of interests of its editor in chief, editors, journalists and external contributors”.

We believe that from these parts is clear that there is non-partisanship for staff on Oštro’s site.

N.B. The link should work now: https://www.ostro.si/en/code-of-conduct

The applicant needs to set out clearly its policy on non-partisanship for staff on its site. It should be clear that, save for the issues of accuracy and transparency, the applicant’s staff do not get involved in advocacy or publicise their views on policy issues the organization might fact check in such a way as might lead a reasonable member of the public to see the organization’s work as biased.

N.B. the link toward "Münchenska deklaracija" (here: https://www.ostro.si/si/kodeks) does not work, please replace it with an active one.

The applicant sets out its policy on non-partisanship for staff on its site. Save for the issues of accuracy and transparency, the applicant’s staff does not get involved in advocacy or publicise their views on policy issues the organization might fact-check in such a way as might lead a reasonable member of the public to see the organization’s work as biased.

The applicant identifies the source of all significant evidence used in its fact-checks, providing relevant links where the source is available online, in such a way that users can replicate their work if they wish.

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

The applicant checks all key elements of claims against as many sources as needed, which is one or more.

The applicant clearly indicates the position and interests of the sources used in its fact-checks.

Razkrinkavanje.si is a fact-checking section of Oštro, non-profit media. Oštro.si is registered with Slovenian Ministry of Culture as an online media outlet.

Please see attached file. 

The applicant is a fact-checking section of an independent media. The parent organization (media) has a page on its website detailing each source of funding for the last 4 years.

That page also sets out the legal form in which the organization is registered (as a non-profit).

Please see https://www.ostro.si/en/finances.

The applicant is a fact-checking section of a media house that makes a statement on ownership.

Please see https://www.ostro.si/en/people

A statement on the applicant’s website sets out the applicant’s organizational structure and makes clear how and by whom editorial control is exercised.

Please see https://www.ostro.si/en/people

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

https://www.ostro.si/en/contact

The applicant provides easy means on its website for users to communicate with the editorial team. It is possible to contact the applicant via the contact form on its home page, but also via a dedicated page on its site as well as through Twitter and Facebook pages.

Please scroll to section Kako delamo Razkrinkavanje.s (How we work at Razkrinkavanje.si)i: https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje

The applicant publishes on its website a statement about the methodology it uses to select, research, write and publish its fact-checks.

The applicant selects claims to check based primarily on the reach and importance of the claims and the people involved, so the reason for choosing the claim to check is always clear.

The applicant sets out in its fact-checks relevant evidence that appears to support the claim as well as relevant evidence that appears to undermine it.

The applicant in its fact-checks assesses the merits of the evidence found using the same high standards applied to evidence on equivalent claims, regardless of who made the claim.

The applicant seeks where possible to contact those who made the claim to seek supporting evidence or for the right of reply.

Our readers send us inquiries and suggestions for fact-checking via email, on Social Media (Twitter: https://twitter.com/razkrinkavanje, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/razkrinkavanje and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razkrinkavanje.si/).

Readers can also send submit their suggestions or questions from the sections Piši nam (Write to us) (https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje) and Contact (https://www.ostro.si/en/contact) on our webpage.

To encourage audience engagement and participation, Oštro also organizes public editorial meetings of which two were held online because of the covid-19 situation and one live, in a central city park in Ljubljana. Reporters presented examples of the most interesting fact-checks and led the participants in a discussion about the functioning of the Slovene recycling system, and on the convoluted problematics of tax-havens.

We held one public editorial meeting together with Danes je nov dan, a civic tech NGO and partner on Oštro’s political tracking project Obljuba dela dolg (https://obljubadeladolg.si/). Aside from ongoing work on the project, the tracking of three upcoming election campaigns in 2022 was also discussed at the meeting. 

The applicant encourages users to contact them. It also states what readers can legitimately expect will be fact-checked and what isn’t fact-checkable.


We publish corrections or complaints under articles which concern correction or complaint. Please see section Preverjena informacija je dobra informacija (Good information is fact-checked information): https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje

The applicant has a corrections and complaints policy that is easily visible and accessible on the organization’s website.

At this link https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje, under the section “Smernice”, we wrote: “Kako lahko pomagate? Če naletite na vsebino, o kateri menite ali slutite, da je neresnična, zavajajoča ali namerno lažniva, nas o tem obvestite. V skladu z uredniško presojo bomo vsebino natančno pregledali, analizirali in objavili svoje ugotovitve.”

This means: “How can you help us? If you come across content that you think or suspect to be untrue, misleading, or intentionally false, inform us. In accordance with the editorial assessment, we will carefully review, analyze and publish our findings.”

We have now changed that text into: “Kako lahko pomagate? Če naletite na vsebino, o kateri menite ali slutite, da je neresnična, zavajajoča ali namerno lažniva, nas o tem obvestite. Vsebino bomo natančno pregledali in se skladno z uredniško presojo odločili, ali jo bomo preverili in svoje ugotovitve objavili, po objavi pa vas o tem obvestili.”

This means: “How can you help us? If you come across content that you believe or suspect to be untrue, misleading or intentionally false, please let us know. We will carefully review it and make an editorial decision whether to review it and publish our findings. You will be notified after the publication.” 

The applicant does call users to contact them if they find content that has infringed their rights or interests. However, it does not explain the steps toward a solution (if the editorial team will take several days to discuss it, and let the user know about the outcome, etc).

Please explain the process briefly.

The corrections policy sets out clear definitions of what it does and does not cover, and how mistakes, especially those requiring revised conclusions of a fact-check, are handled. The editorial team will take little time to discuss, and let the user know about the outcome.

At Razkrinkavanje.si we have not yet received a request to publish a correction, only two requests to publish a “presentation of opposing facts” (Slovenian: prikaz nasprotnih dejstev).

According to the Slovene Mass Media Act anyone has the right to request a correction of the published information, which they believe affected their rights or interests. Additionally, the current law stipulates a person is also entitled to publish a “presentation of opposing facts’’ which is not considered a correction but an explanation.

As a rule, we add any internal corrections or new information to the already published stories in a manner that makes it very clear for our readers that something was changed. We date and outline any changes clearly below the story, and emphasize the change in the story with an asterisk to alert the reader to it.

For example, In September 2021, nine months into the government’s refusal to finance the national press agency, we published a fact-checking story debunking an MP’s statement concerning the number of employees of the Slovenian Press Agency. The MP claimed there were more than 300 but actually, the agency said, there were just 87.

After publication a reader wrote to us saying that the number was less than 87. Razkrinkavanje.si got in touch with the agency which realized that they gave us wrong data. The number of employees was 77. We published an annotation at the bottom of the story.

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/novinarji-zaradi-negotovih-razmer-zapuscajo-sta

In some cases we have to add a note to the bottom after finding a mistake internally. A July 2021 story that debunked the prime minister’s statement about the rise of the Slovenian living standard in the last thirty years. A reader alerted us to a mistake in citing GDP per capita, thus, we published an explanation of the correction below the story.

https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/zivljenjski-standard-v-letu-osamosvojitve-boljsi-kot-je-trdil-jansa

Sometimes we have to publish an update because we have received new and relevant information, a Freedom of Information Request may have been granted, a public body finally responded or similar.

For example, on 15 November 2021 we published a fact-checking story which proved that an ad for a cosmetic product published several times by the most read news portal 24ur.com was camouflaged as an article. The 24ur.com newsroom only responded to our inquiries after we have already published the fact-checking story, thus, we added their statement in and clearly marked it for readers.https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje/objave/oglas-lux-factorja-ni-novinarski-prispevek

According to the applicant's statement, it has not yet received a request to publish a correction.

However, where credible evidence was provided that the applicant should amend the fact-check, it has done so openly and transparently.


Oštro is an existing signatory.

Please, see bellow: https://www.ostro.si/si/razkrinkavanje

The applicant informs users that if they believe the signatory is violating the IFCN Code, they may inform the IFCN, with a link to the IFCN site.

Razkrinkavanje.si is committed to the professional principles which are set out in the Slovene Code of Ethics for Journalists and Munich Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists. We published an internal code of ethics in September 2020.

The parent media company has and adheres to an open and honest corrections policy.