The Association of Independent Press (API) is a non-governmental organization established to support apolitical mass media. The Association of Independent Press was founded by the representatives of the first local independent newspapers "Accent Provincial" (Glodeni), "Business-Info" / at present “Gazeta de Sud” (Cimișlia), "Cugetul" (Bălți), "Cuvântul" (Rezina), "Est Curier" (Criuleni), "Gazeta de Vest" (Nisporeni), and the press agencies BASA-Press (Chisinau) and DECA-Press (Bălți).

The idea to set API belongs to the American journalist Judi Yablonky, who, during a documentation trip taken to Moldova, suggested to the directors of independent media institutions to unite under a non-governmental organization, with a view to help each other and defend their rights.

The Association of Independent Press was officially registered at the Ministry of Justice on 29 September 1997, being the first association of this kind in the republic.

API is recognised as one of the most important mass-media organisations in R. Moldova which promotes and provides assistance to independent media. API is highly appreciated for its media campaigns in various public interest sectors, advocacy activities for mass-media development, defence of the freedom of expression, access to information, promotion of journalistic self-regulation, etc.

API manages the fact-checking portal, Stopfals.md, through which journalists deny the false and biased information that appeared in the media and social networks. http://api.md/ ; www.stopfals.md. 

Stopfals.md is a distinct team within the Association of Independent Press which is a legally registered non-governmental organization. The information can be easily found on both stopfals.md and api.md. 

Since November 2015, API in partnership with Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and Association of Independent Tele-journalists in the Republic of Moldova (ATVJI) is conducting the media campaign against false and biased information - “STOP FALS!”. The goal of the campaign is to diminish the effects and the impact resulting from propagandistic and manipulative information that distorts the reality, being spread out through various communication means by mass-media institutions and other politically-controlled structures, and to build Moldovan citizens' capacities to critically analyze the received information. In the API team 14 people work, of which 4 API employees are also on the Stopfals. MD portal team. The website www.stopfals.MD is an online platform for information on the phenomenon of "fake news", revealing false and biased information, training and assistance on fact-checking and discovering manipulation techniques, with interactive fields and special modules through to which users are encouraged to report forgeries in journalistic materials, published by local or foreign media, answer questions from opinion polls, participate in debates, etc. The main purpose of this site, as well as the API, is to thoroughly verify the false information that is intentionally transmitted on different platforms. For two years, the Stopfals. MD portal has debunked a series of fakes about Coronavirus and vaccination. At the same time, in the Republic of Moldova there were two years of presidential elections in 2020, and in 2021 - parliamentary elections attended by two platforms: left, pro-Kremlin affiliate, and right - with pro-European visions. In this context, in the last two years, the Republic of Moldova has been the target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, both inside and outside the country, and the journalists from the Stopfals. MD portal has permanently denied such misinformation.

During this difficult period of war in neighboring Ukraine, initiated by the Russian Federation, in the Republic of Moldova, misinformation from pro-Kremlin sources in Moldova, politicians, ex-politicians, sites with the pro-Kremlin editorial policy were activated. These sources spread messages directed against both Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. 

“STOP FALS!” project started in November 2015 as a joint effort of three independent journalism representatives from the Republic of Moldova (Independent Press Association - API, Independent Journalism Center - IJC, and Independent Tele-journalists in the Republic of Moldova - ATVJI) against misinformation and disinformation. 

The archives of the project are available on the webpage and we can track that the first fact-checking article was published on November 11, 2015. The entire content available on the webpage is exclusively dedicated to fact-checking related activities. 

The composition of the team and the role of each member are published on the webpage: https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/2    

The API, through the Stopfals. md portal has focused in the last three months largely on the denial of misinformation and narratives about COVID-19, vaccination, falsehoods in the context of the Ukrainian war, and false statements voiced by politicians and former politicians. 

On Stopfals.md, at least one fact-check a week was published during the last six months prior to the date of application, March 15, 2022. Stopfals.md is the only signatory (expired) of the IFCN code of principles from the Republic of Moldova. 

Over the last three months, all the fact-checks published on Stopfals.md cover topics of public interest, such as issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, or propaganda against the European Union or NATO.

The organization does not receive funding from local or foreign state or political sources. 

The organization does not receive funding from the state, politicians or political parties from Moldova.

In 2020, API received funds from the East-European Foundation, the Soros-Moldova Foundation, the European Union (through the German Agency for International Cooperation), the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova, the Open Information Partnership (UK), the European Service Network, the Justice for Journalists Foundation, Millennium DPI Partners (U.S. Department of State), National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Moldova, the FOJO Media Institute (Sweden), AO Promo-LEX (from USAID funds), Funky Citizens (sub-grant), Konrad Adenauer - Foundation office in the Republic of Moldova.

Among them, the funds allocated for Stopfals.md came from the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Moldova, the Open Information Partnership and the European Service Network.

Although there is no proof of local or foreign political influence in the content, the report for 2021 is not available on the website of API, so the applicant should provide more information about the sources of funding in 2021.                                                                                                    

The organization does not receive funding from local or foreign state or political sources. 

The applicant clearly sets out on the website the principles and measures that ensure the editorial independence of everything published on Stopfals.md: https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/1

The journalists monitor the media but also the social networks for detecting misinformation;

Analyze the subject;

The journalist collects information ethically and legally.

The journalist, in collecting information of public interest, ensures every time that between his rights and the rights of citizens, who are also sources of information, a fair and reasonable balance is established.

The journalist, prior to requesting information from the source, identifies his name and, as the case may be, the media institution he represents, preventing the source that the information provided could be made public.

The journalist must obtain the opinion of all parties relevant to the subject, and in conflict situations present the positions of at least two parties. The journalist must demonstrate the plurality of opinions, even if he does not agree with them.

The fact checks provided by the applicant as well as any other fact check randomly chosen from the webpage use the same standards of evidence and we can easily identify the journalists' efforts to provide objective and undoubtable proof in each analysis and to stick to the same procedure when verifying a statement.    

https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/0

The procedure through which the selection of claims is made and the means to ensure the objectivity of the fact checking process are clearly explained on the website. Taking into consideration the national context, the selection of claims is justified and it is not a sign of partisanship. 

There is no proof of any intention to hide subjective interests of the sources or external influence of the analysis. The fact checks reveal the real identity of the sources and describe the context of the topic and the people involved as widely and openly as possible. 

The applicant is independent and with a good reputation at an international level. The political topics addressed are selected because of their importance for democracy and for the sake of transparency and accuracy in public debate, and they are treated according to the standards declared on their website and those of independent media. 

The journalists from the Stopfals.md portal respect all the norms of the DEONTOLOGICAL CODE OF THE JOURNALIST FROM THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA.

The team's activity is based on equidistance, transparency, integrity. Our editorial policy is also based on international principles of professional ethics in journalism, including the right to truthful information. Known as the most credible fact-checking newsroom in Moldova, the Stopfals.md portal carries out a non-partisan activity.

https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/1

The statement on non-partisanship for stuff is published on the site and clearly expressed. No tracks of any expression of support or opposition towards a specific political party, person or group was identified on the site or the social media of the applicant.

Whenever possible, the applicant always provides links to the sources available online, thus the reader can easily verify the information on his own. 

The applicant uses mostly primary sources, the best available and as many as possible. The use of secondary sources is only complementary to the primary sources and it is explained. 

All the fact checks provides two or more sources.

I have found no evidence of private interest of the sources that might influence the conclusions of the fact check. But in any case, the background and relation of the sources to the topic are clearly described and they are relevant for fact check. 

The API statute includes API goals and tasks, details the organizational structure and attributes of API management, explains how to accumulate financial means and to manage API heritage, etc.

The API statute has been amended several times, the last changes being made at the General Assembly on May 19, 2017. http://api.md/page/en-statutul-api-14

 At the beginning of this summer, API organizes the General Assembly of API where the report

on activities is approved, but also the financial one for the previous year. As the report for 2021

is still in process and is not yet approved to be published on the site, on the Stopfals.md portal

we have created a section entitled: ”Projects”, where are published the information about the

projects implemented by Stopfals.md, the financier and the amounts of grants.

The applicant shares transparently the legal form and all the funding sources on the website prior to 2021. The report for 2021 is not available.

If the financial report for 2021 is not ready yet, the applicant should provide draft figures for income to date and the identities of funders accounting for more than 5%, and commit to making its final financial figures public on its website within three months of the end of its financial year end.

The applicant shares transparently the legal form and all the funding sources.

Donors and project amounts are indicated in the API's annual activity reports. http://api.md/page/en-raportul-anual-21

Here you will find detailed information regarding the funding for API: http://api.md/page/ro-rapoarte-anuale-21 and STOPFALS Link: https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/0

StopFals is an unit of API and this is clearly stated on stopfals.md and api.md 

API team counts 14 employees, including eight women and six men. Throughout the year, voluntaries who are usually students from Journalism Faculties are working at API. http://api.md/page/en-contacte-32

The organizational structure is published on both api.md, the parent organization, and stopfals.md 

Stopfals.md is part of API who also has editorial control through the 4 members that also work for Stopfals.md. It is mentioned on Stopfals: https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/2 

On the website, the team is presented as being composed of 5 collaborators and 2 volunteers. The professional profile is provided for the 3 members.

I suggest adding also the professional profile of the 2 other members. 

The Independent Press Association (API) encourages readers to report each case of false and distorted information, the activity carried out by some media institutions and national and international social networks. In that way, the public try to fight the fake media together!

https://stopfals.md/ro/opinion/signal . Also, the Stopfals. MD portal has the Semnale.stopfals.md: https://semnale.stopfals.md/, a section where readers can notify us about a fake from the media or social networks. At the same time, our readers can contact us on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StopFals.md/, but also at the email address stopfals@stopfals.md.

The applicant strongly encourages users to communicate with the team and  provides all the necessary details. 

https://stopfals.md/ro/campania/gandeste-critic

The link provided is not the good one, but the methodology is explained on the website here: https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/1

There is a methodology explanation stated on the website, but it seems that the applicant doesn't use it entirely. As possibles conclusions of the fact checking procedures, they distingush between "minor fake", "medium fake" and "severe fake", but I was not able to find these verdicts in the fact checks published. If these labels are not used, they should be erased from the methodology description.  

A clearer explanation of the selection of the claims would also be useful.

The applicant generally selects the claims according to the reach and the importance they have. Although the reason for the selection of  the claim is not stated, generally the importance is obvious. Nonetheless, in some cases a brief explanation of the selection would be beneficial to the credibility of the applicant. 

Since the applicant only publishes fact checks that lead to the conclusion that the claim is fake, most of the information provided undermines the claims. Nonetheless, I do not considered that relevant information that appears to support the claim was omitted from the analysis. 

The applicant uses the same standards of evidence regardless of who made the claim. In most of the fact checks, there are used primary sources such as laws, original research, photographs, video, or audio that capture the event, and, whenever possible, consults all the parties involved. 

Also, the Stopfals.md portal has the Semnale.stopfals.md section where readers can notify us about a fake from the media or social networks. At the same time, our readers can contact us on their Facebook page, but also at the email address stopfals@stopfals.md. Readers can also send us false ones via Facebook personal page.Here you can find the details needed.

https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/1. A pre-documentation is made, then the journalists tell the citators that the information is documented or not.

Whenever possible, the applicant contacts the person who made the claim and publishes his reaction. When the person who made the claim doesn't answer or refuses to react, this is specified in the article. 

Here you can find the details needed.

https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/1

The applicant has considerable interaction with its audience: 1184 claims reported by the readers and declared fake by the applicant were published since December 2020. The instruments are user-friendly and the selection procedure is clearly explained: https://semnale.stopfals.md/ro/about  

It would be worth repeating what is not fact-checkable and explaining how the applicant selects the claims he fact checks in the section for the readers' claims as well. 

The Stopfals.md portal cares about its integrity and reputation. We only publish verified information. In exceptional cases, when an unintentional error creeps in, we correct it and notify the public about the error. The information is corrected both on the site and in social networks.

https://stopfals.md/ro/about-us/1 

The corrections and complaints policy is published on the applicant's website. But I was not able to found any correction on the website or Facebook page. 

The corrections policy is clear enough.

During the last year, the Stopfals.md portal did not have any complaints from its readers from other people regarding the quality of the materials published by the Stopfals.md portal.

I have found no proof of correction request. 

The Stopfals.md portal announced to the readers that the platform has the status of a signatory of the IFCN Code of Principles. In case the journalists will violate the deontological norms, the readers can notify IFCN with a complaint against Stopfals.md.

https://stopfals.md/ro/article/portalul-stopfals-md-a-semnat-codul-de-principii-al-celei-mai-mari-retele-de-verificare-a-faptelor-din-lume-international-fact-checking-network-ifcn-180425

The Stopfals.md portal has the section: Error correction policy, where readers are informed

about the steps that are followed by the editorial team in case they make mistakes.

The journalists from the Stopfals.md portal have signed and respect all the norms of the

JOURNALIST CODE OF ETHICS IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA.

The Stopfals.md portal is accountable to the public. All complaints and observations made in

accordance with the Code of Ethics of the Journalist of the Republic of Moldova and the Code of

Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) are taken into account, a

document that contains a number of commitments that promote excellence in fact-finding. The

Stopfals.md portal has undertaken to comply with these commitments when applying to become

a member of this international fact-checking network.

The editorial team of the Stopfals.md portal offers all interested parties the opportunity to report

an error or inaccuracy in the material published on the platform.

Notifications can be sent to the email address stopfals@stopfals.md , on the Facebook network,

or on other social networks.

The editorial team examines the complaint/referral in a timely manner and informs the parties of

its decision. In case of inaccuracy or error, corrections will be made immediately in all possible

formats.

Grammatical or mechanical errors (spelling), which essentially do not affect the reader's

perception of the content of the text, will be corrected directly in the text.

In case of a major error, the editors will apologize and make the correction by returning with an

update. See an example of an error here.

At the same time, if the journalists from Stopfals.md violate the deontological norms, the readers

can notify IFCN with a complaint against Stopfals.md. The Press Council of the Republic of

Moldova may also be notified.

NOTE: This announcement is also published for Russian-speaking readers.

The link to the complaints page of the IFCN site is included in a random article on the applicant's website. 

I suggest including it on its corrections page.

The link to the IFCN complaints page is included on the website section for Error and correction policy. 

http://www.api.md/page/en-affiliation-and-partnerships-16

API, the parent organization, is not a media company.