Organization: Pagella Politica
Applicant: TFCF SRL (VAT 02595010352)
Assessor: Paolo Attivissimo
Conclusion and recommendations
Paolo Attivissimo wrote:
2b): The fact-checker selection criteria stated in the application do not match explicitly the criteria published on the signatory’s website. Website should be amended to clarify the criteria used.
4a): Funding is not described publicly in detail as required. Spending is not published at all. A detailed public statement of funding and spending should be required.
4b): One of the founders and former directors of the signatory is Director of IFCN. He is currently involved with the signatory in an “informal” and “advisory” role only, not in fact-checking. Out of an abundance of caution, potential conflicts of interest should be considered.
6) A formal public corrections policy should be published to expand the current concise description of how corrections are handled.
The signatory has stated that the organisation is “more than willing to comply to any suggestions for additions or modifications deemed necessary to fully address the standards.”
Paolo Attivissimo recommended Accept with edits
Section 1: Organization
Criterion 1a
Proof of registration
Evidence required: Please provide evidence that the signatory is a legally-registered organization set up exclusively for the purpose of fact-checking or the distinct fact-checking project of a recognized media house or research institution.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Pagella Politica is registered as a limited liability company (società a responsabilità limitata semplificata) that performs fact-checking and also training. Evidence of legal registration is in the attached statement (visura) from the Chamber of Commerce of Reggio Emilia, filename visura nuovo amm.re Bernardin (3).pdf (attached).
done_all 1a marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Criterion 1b
Archive
Evidence required: Insert a link to the archive of fact checks published in the previous three months. If you do not collect all fact checks in one place, please explain how the fact-checking is conducted by your organization.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Pagella Politica has produced an average of one fact-check per week or more over the past three weeks of 2017 and over the past three months of 2017. Specifically, it has produced 6 fact-checks over the past three weeks and 26 over the past three months:
May 5: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7822/grillo-sui-vaccini-ha-la-memoria-corta
April 21: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7818/di-battista-e-la-guerra-in-afghanistan
April 13: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7811/esiste-davvero-un-tesoretto-da-47-miliardi
April 10: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7788/droga-e-armi-sono-in-aumento-in-italia
March 28: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7737/rossi-e-i-fondi-per-listruzione-in-italia
March 18: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7735/emiliano-si-sbaglia-su-magistrati-e-attivita-politica
March 18: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7760/quali-sono-le-piu-grandi-aziende-del-mondo
March 8: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7730/i-nati-nel-2016-sono-il-numero-piu-basso-di-sempre
March 6: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7728/limmunita-di-marine-le-pen
March 3: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7723/emiliano-e-la-costituzione-cubana
February 24: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7719/i-figli-del-sud
February 24: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7714/il-sud-e-luniversita
February 20: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7704/lam-lira-e-le-monete-parallele
February 14: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7691/chi-ha-causato-il-problema-della-prescrizione-in-italia
February 10: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7682/di-battista-e-il-controllo-della-banca-ditalia
February 8: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7697/il-surplus-commerciale-della-germania-viola-le-regole-europee
February 8: https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazionii/7689/il-nuovo-record-della-disoccupazione-giovanile
done_all 1b marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Section 2: Nonpartisanship and Fairness
Criterion 2a
Body of work sample
Evidence required: Please share links to ten fact checks that better represent the scope and consistency of your fact-checking. Provide a short explanation of how your organization strives to maintain coherent standards across fact checks.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7686/il-muro-di-obama
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7677/qualche-numero-sulla-disoccupazione-giovanile
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7584/corruzione-quanto-ci-costi-la-bufala-dei-60-miliardi
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7515/guiyang-non-e-stata-costruita-in-un-giorno
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7459/il-nuovo-senato-e-il-confronto-europeo
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7638/quegli-altri-nel-nome-di-dio
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7494/di-maio-e-il-ritmo-delle-leggi
https://pagellapolitica.it/blog/show/152/meningite-e-migranti-la-bufala-di-forza-nuova
Our factchecking process is made up of three phases.
- selection process. We pick only statements that have verifiable facts and data made my prominent Italian politicians
- our factchecker verifies the statement through primary sources and databases
- a peer reviewer fact checks the fact checker and reviews the analysis
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Signatory has provided the following fact-checks, which cover statements made by a broad range of political figures:
- https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7718/salvini-si-sbaglia-non-e-vero-che-in-europa-cresce-di-piu-chi-non-ha-leuro
- https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7686/il-muro-di-obama
- https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7677/qualche-numero-sulla-disoccupazione-giovanile
- https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7584/corruzione-quanto-ci-costi-la-bufala-dei-60-miliardi
- https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7515/guiyang-non-e-stata-costruita-in-un-giorno
- https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7459/il-nuovo-senato-e-il-confronto-europeo
- https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7638/quegli-altri-nel-nome-di-dio
- https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/7494/di-maio-e-il-ritmo-delle-leggi
- https://pagellapolitica.it/blog/show/152/meningite-e-migranti-la-bufala-di-forza-nuova
- https://pagellapolitica.it/blog/show/148/la-notizia-pi%C3%B9-condivisa-sul-referendum-%C3%A8-una-bufala
According to https://pagellapolitica.it/politici/iscriti, a very substantial fraction of the fact-checks deals with statements by Matteo Renzi (365), Beppe Grillo (238), Matteo Salvini (150), Silvio Berlusconi (111) and Renato Brunetta (102). No other politician has more than 100 fact-checks. The remarkably large number of Mr Renzi’s fact-checks is not necessarily a sign of political bias; it may be due to Mr Renzi’s prominence in Italian politics and to the abundance of his public statements.
The signatory has explained how Pagella Politica strives to maintain standards as follows:
Our factchecking process is made up of three phases. 1) selection process. We pick only statements that have verifiable facts and data made my [sic; typo for “by”] prominent Italian politicians 2) our factchecker verifies the statement through primary sources and databases 3) a peer reviewer fact checks the fact checker and reviews the analysis
done_all 2a marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Criterion 2b
Nonpartisanship policy
Evidence required: Please share evidence of your policy preventing staff from direct involvement in political parties and advocacy organizations. Please also indicate the policy your organization has as a whole regarding advocacy and supporting political candidates.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
None of the founders and staffers are part of any political party or organisation. It is a requirement during the selection process of new fact-checkers. All of this is publicly stated on our website - https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
The signatory has described as follows Pagella Politica’s policy regarding advocacy/political positions:
None of the founders and staffers are part of any political party or organisation. It is a requirement during the selection process of new fact-checkers. All of this is publicly stated on our website - https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index
However, only the first part of this claim (no political affiliation) is actually stated at https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index (“Nessuno dei fondatori o dei membri dello staff fa parte di partiti e/o movimenti politici”, i.e., “None of the founders or staff members are part of parties and/or political movements”).
The second part (nonaffiliation requirement for new fact-checkers) is not stated as claimed at the provided link. The signatory clarified by mail (attached) that “this requirement is generally checked during the job interview, and when we were open to occasional collaborations - a condition that doesn’t apply any more today - we had a standard email sent to the applicants, detailing that they couldn’t be actively involved in politics.” This part of their requirements is not stated publicly.
done_all 2b marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Section 3: Transparency of Sources
Criterion 3a
Sources Policy
Please share a brief and public explanation (500 words max) of how sources are provided in enough detail that readers could replicate the fact check. If you have a public policy on how you find and use sources for your fact-checking, it should be shared here.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Our use of sources if very transparent. Every single time a number or fact is stated in one of our analysis, a direct link is provided in order for readers to replicate the fact check. As a policy pagella politica uses direct sources and primary data bases. This process is explained here - https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
The signatory does provide clearly identifiable links to sources and evidence. The signatory provided this explanation:
Our use of sources if [sic; typo for “is”] very transparent. Every single time a number or fact is stated in one of our analysis, a direct link is provided in order for readers to replicate the fact check. As a policy pagella politica uses direct sources and primary data bases. This process is explained here - https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index
The signatory does not have a formal policy on sources. On this matter, the signatory stated by email (attached): “We do not have a formal, written policy on sources. However, it is important to underline that our standard contemplates the use of publicly accessible materials, such as databases or reports, and we give the reader every element to redo the analysis by himself/herself, for example publishing Google Sheets with all the data used in our piece (an example here).”
done_all 3a marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Section 4: Transparency of Funding & Organization
Criterion 4a
Funding Sources
Evidence required: Please link to the section where you publicly list your sources of funding (including, if they exist, any rules around which types of funding you do or don't accept), or a statement on ownership if you are the branch of an established media organization or research institution.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
The pagella politica website explains the financial start up of the project (https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index) and also lists all past and current clients (https://pagellapolitica.it/servizi/index)
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
There is no public page that thoroughly details funding sources. The signatory has provided the following statement on this matter:
The pagella politica website explains the financial start up of the project (https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index) and also lists all past and current clients (https://pagellapolitica.it/servizi/index)
The first link above only describes funding sources very vaguely as self-funding and crowdfunding.
The second link above lists past and current clients but provides no information as to the funding that they provided, if any. The signatory stated by email (attached): “We do not publish in detail our funding sources and spending, even if I can say that the funding has always come entirely from our clients - except for a crowdfunding campaign in 2015 - and that the spending is almost entirely dedicated to salaries.”
There is no public statement of spending.
The link https://pagellapolitica.it/servizi/edit/8/newsletter mentions the option of sponsoring Pagella Politica’s newsletter (50 euros for one newsletter, 150 euros for a one-month sponsorship), but no further details.
done 4a marked as Partially compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Criterion 4b
Staff
Evidence required: Please link to the section detailing all authors and key actors behind your fact-checking project with their biographies. You can also list the name and bios of the members of the editorial board, pool of experts, advisory board, etc. if your organization has those.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Authors and key actors are clearly listed, with their bios, at https://pagellapolitica.it/static/chisiamo.
NOTE: One of the founders and former directors of Pagella Politica, Alexios Mantzarlis, is the Director of IFCN. This is stated publicly at https://pagellapolitica.it/static/chisiamo and https://www.poynter.org/about-the-international-fact-checking-network/. I, the assessor, contacted Mr Mantzarlis for a statement regarding possible conflict of interest in this assessment, and he provided the following:
In terms of the questions
- I remain a founding member ("socio") with an informal advisory role, but have no executive position. The company is run by another founder, Daniele De Bernardin, who has the role of "amministratore unico" and therefore has control over budgetary and administrative decisions.
- The company does not distribute dividends, which I am sure the budget can provide evidence for if necessary, so I have no economic entries
- I have no editorial responsibilities, nor do I write fact checks
done_all 4b marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Criterion 4c
Contact
Evidence required: Please link to the section where readers can get in touch with the organization.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Readers are actively invited to contact the signatory via a form at https://pagellapolitica.it/contattaci.
done_all 4c marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Section 5: Transparency of Methodology
Criterion 5a
Detailed Methodology
Evidence required: Please link to a section or article detailing the steps you follow for your fact-checking work.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index describes in detail its methodology and the criteria for selecting a claim to fact-check. It also provides a method for reporting errors: reports are to be posted in the comments section of the fact-check to which they refer.
https://pagellapolitica.it/metodologia provides some details of the rating criteria and a disclaimer regarding the statistics for each politician who has been fact-checked.
done_all 5a marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Criterion 5b
Claim submissions
Evidence required: Please link to the page or process through which readers can submit claims to fact-check. If you do not allow this, please briefly explain why.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Readers can submit claims at https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/submit. This link is clearly indicated in the home page of the site and the form to which it links provides clear and detailed instructions on the content to include in a claim to be submitted. https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index clarifies which claims can be fact-checked.
done_all 5b marked as Fully compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Section 6: Open & Honest Corrections Policy
Criterion 6a
Corrections policy
Evidence required: Please link to the page with your policy to address corrections. If it is not public, please share your organization's handbook.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
There is no formal public corrections policy, but at https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index, item 6 states that readers can leave a comment to submit corrections and that the corrections will be reviewed.
done 6a marked as Partially compliant by Paolo Attivissimo.
Criterion 6b
Examples of corrections
Evidence required: Please provide two examples of a correction made, or correction requests handled, in the past year.
Pagella Politica
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
All of our corrections (with detailed explanation) are listed here - https://pagellapolitica.it/blog/show/50/quando-i-fact-checker-sbagliano
Paolo Attivissimo Assessor
24-May-2017 (7 years ago)
Examples of corrections made are all grouped on this single page: https://pagellapolitica.it/blog/show/50/quando-i-fact-checker-sbagliano. Corrections are also prominently displayed at the top of the fact-check that has been corrected. Here are a few examples of corrected fact-checks:
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/analisi/5903/silvio-berlusconi
https://pagellapolitica.it/dichiarazioni/analisi/5354/ignazio-marino