India Today Fact Check is part of TV Today Network Limited ( https://bit.ly/2QAQ12S Annual report of the Company for 2018 on the Bombay Stock Exchange). The Fact Check is a segment within the India Today website which is managed separately and independently from the editorial operations of India Today. 

With the approval from the  Board of Directors of the TV Today Network Limited ( https://bit.ly/2QDnRV5 ), a Fact Check Team within the company (letter attached), has been formed. This Team is independent of the other editorial operations of the Company and is engaged in fact checking and busting misinformation in the mainstream and social media.

The Team reports directly to the Vice Chairperson & Managing Director of the Company. The main source of revenue for the Company is advertising. Less than one percent of the revenue goes towards the Fact Check Team.

Attachments – 1). Certificate of Incorporation of the TV Today Network Ltd.

                            2). Setting up of Fact Check Team within TV Today Network Ltd. 

The applicant is a fact-checking segment of a larger media house. It has provided necessary documents. 

Fact Check is a section in the India Today website.

  https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check

The applicant evaluates claims and publishes fact-checks on a regular basis. It has published more than the average of one report a week over the last three months.

1. https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-this-is-the-truth-behind-pm-s-claim-on-new-airports-1349931-2018-09-26

2. https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-damage-to-martyr-s-memorial-was-accident-not-vandalism-1344165-2018-09-19

3. https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-no-j-k-police-is-not-raising-slogans-for-azaadi-1341549-2018-09-17

4. https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-modi-mother-hiraben-plackard-vote-for-son-1333067-2018-09-06

5. https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-why-giriraj-singh-is-wrong-about-rahul-gandhi-s-photo-1334939-2018-09-07

6. https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/kerala-floods-sanjiv-bhatt-narendra-modi-1320555-2018-08-22

7. https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-viral-video-spins-a-fake-story-around-boeing-737-caught-in-typhoon-1342511-2018-09-17

8. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/viral-test-who-photoshopped-ex-prez-mukherjee-in-rss-cap-1255678-2018-06-08

9. https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/karnataka-election-2018/story/narendra-modi-jawaharlal-nehru-bhagat-singh-congress-karnataka-election-1231140-2018-05-10

10. https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/viral-test-did-rss-give-british-queen-a-guard-of-honour-before-independence-1300771-2018-07-30

We pick a story for fact check without allegiance to any ideology or political position. Apart from the claims and messages being shared widely, we also consider the suggestions sent by public for selecting stories. We maintain a standard procedure of verifying claims by reaching out to the concerned persons or entities involved in the story. To verify the  facts we also reach out to the authorities at the ground level. In the process, we refrain from framing any opinion or making editorial comments in our stories. We provide the supporting evidences through hyperlinks in the stories and explain the methods used to reach the conclusion which a reader can replicate.

The applicant uses the same standards to assess all claims. It  covers a variety of subjects. The explanation of its policy is satisfactory.

India Today Fact Check is part of TV Today Network Limited and conforms to the stringent non-partisanship policy of the India Today Group. The policy can be read here.

https://www.indiatoday.in/about-us-fact-check#non-partisanship-policy

The applicant has shared a clear policy on non-partisanship. It has also mentioned that employees are expected to agree to the Group's code of conduct and social media policies. 

We are extremely careful about picking up sources for our stories because the credibility of one’s argument depends on the credibility of its sources. The first step is to evaluate if the source is directly related to the story that we are investigating.

We prefer to track down the sources who are eyewitnesses or author of the original audio/video clip. We also look for people who are in a position to have access to credible information. As and when needed, we tap the huge pool of our reporters on ground for cross-verification. Not relying solely of single source, we always corroborate the statements with evidences.

Primary sources: Reaching out to the concerned person is critical to fact-checking. To verify the authenticity of a statement, we directly approach concerned persons for their reaction. We also scan their verified social media accounts for public statement.

Official sources: Local authorities and police remain conventional yet an important source of information. We often share the information or claim that we are investigating with the authorities to get the official reaction on it and debunk misinformation. The documents presented and discussions recorded on the official websites of Parliament and state assemblies are a huge source of validated information that we frequently use.

Scholarly journals & newspapers: We rely on non-partisan, government agencies for expertise, analyses and reports. We also use academic books and reputed websites for authoritative information on a subject. Apart from reputed newspapers and magazines, we often refer to websites of well-known organisations and company publications to verify an information.

Transparency about sources: We clearly specify our sources in a story. We describe in reasonable detail about the process and evidences on the basis of which we arrive at a conclusion. We provide hyperlinks in most of the stories so that readers could replicate the fact check. Hyperlinks direct readers directly to the source of information and evidences which we used to reach a conclusion.

Additional layer of verification: India Today has a huge pools of reporters and stringers active on the ground. When required, we utilise this network spread across the country and abroad to cross-verify facts. Occasionally, we come across stories where the concerned persons don’t have social media presence. In that case, our on-ground reporters act as an additional layer of cross-verification.

The applicant makes it sources very clear. It also puts up relevant videos and hyperlinks. Readers can replicate the fact check if they wish to. 

The applicant has made good use of the network of reporters and journalists it has access to through the media organisation it is a part of. 

The parent company, TV Today Network Ltd., is a public limited company. Annual report of 2018 can be seen here. https://www.bseindia.com/bseplus/AnnualReport/532515/5325150318.pdf

A separate account of the company in the name of 'India Today Fact Check – unit of TV Today Network Ltd' has been opened and funded for the specific purpose of fact checking. 

The applicant has submitted a link to its annual report in the application. It has made a statement on ownership in its About Us tab.

All authors and key staff are clearly listed with their biographies. 

The public can reach out easily to the fact-checker through the Contact Us page. Additionally, at the end of each fact-check, a number has been listed for the reader to easily submit claims for fact-checking, or comment/complain. 

The applicant explains its methodology clearly, in an accessible, public place. 

There are multiple ways through which the readers can submit claims to fact-check and provide us feedback about our stories. In every story, just below the headline, there is a feedback icon in yellow color. A click on the icon directly takes the reader to the Comments section to submit his feedback. Also, at the bottom of every story, there is our email factcheck@intoday.com and a dedicated WhatsApp No. 73 7000 7000 through which the readers can reach us. All these inputs from the readers are regularly monitored.

The applicant clearly indicates to readers how they can send claims to fact-check. It also invites readers to send claims. 

The applicant's correction policy is clear and public. It explains how mistakes are corrected, It has also explained a a time frame within which mistakes are corrected.

1. In the story published on July 28, 2018, titled ‘Postcard News fakes data to show more sports medals during NDA rule than UPA’, the focus of our story was on the number of medals won during the UPA and the NDA rule. Our premise for picking up a claim was based on the photographs that was published by Postcard News comparing Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi with sportspersons. However, we were pointed out for drawing our own inference from the pictures rather than restricting ourselves to the claim made explicitly. Taking a cue from the feedback, we corrected our story. Now, the story focuses on the posture of the two prime ministers with the medal winners.

https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-postcard-news-fakes-data-to-show-more-sports-medals-during-nda-rule-than-upa-1298912-2018-07-28

2. In the story published on August 3, 2018, titled ‘The mystery behind 40-lakh omissions in Assam’s NRC’, we were pointed out for a sentence in the story which read: “India Today’s Fact Check team reveals the NRC surveyors could still have done a better job”. The objection came over editorialising the fact-check story. We realised that it was not in sync with our fact-check policy and removed all such references. In the same story, a reader pointed out that we were talking about “multiple sources” without specifying them. Abiding by our principle of maintaining transparency, we specified the sources used in the story.

https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-the-mystery-behind-40-lakh-omissions-in-assam-s-nrc-1303941-2018-08-03

The applicant has provided two examples of corrections. The corrections have been very clearly mentioned, right at the beginning of the story, and the sources stated.