The Whistle - Independent & Accurate Media for Israel - was first registered as a non-profit (see attached photo) in July 2016. During its first year of operation, prior to its public launch, the team focused entirely on establishing a methodology, developing a web-platform and articulating an ethical code. For nearly 18 months, between its public launch in July 2017 and December 2018, The Whistle published more than 300 different fact-checking articles, determining the accuracy of statements issued by elected representatives and public officials.

As of January 2019, when it was integrated into Globes daily financial newspaper, The Whistle became an integral, yet independent, fact-checking outfit within Globes, with print as well as digital presence. From a legal standpoint there is no longer a non-profit entity as it was taken apart (see the "Transparency" section on the left bar) right after the integration into Globes. In the past, during its non-profit period, the donor-breakdown was indicated online under 'Transparency' (and it is still available on the Ministry of Justice's website). Today, as it is already an integral part of Globes, The Whistle is broadly described in its Annual Trust Reports (see here, pages 22-23, here, pages 20-21, and here, pages 22-27).

As described, The Whistle was initially an independent nonprofit, later dissolved and integrated into the Globes financial newspaper.

While the response above does not directly refer to a page in the website describing that subject (the Annual Trust Report is not an inherent part of the website per se), their website on Globes features the mentioned information under the Transparency tab. See: https://www.globes.co.il/news/home.aspx?fid=10559 and https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001372882

1. The Whistle was first registered as a non-profit in July 2016 with three main objectives:

- Protect the media's independence and public status in the Israeli democracy;

- Promote fair, non-partisan and balanced coverage of current affairs;

- Promote civic empowerment and public engagement as part of the media landscape.

However, several months into development it became clearer that while journalists and mainstream media often "contributed" to false public debates, they were not necessarily the source. As we decided to go after the source, fact-checking became a top priority and we decided to directly target statements and claims that originated with political and public figures. We have been fact-checking political speech in Israel for nearly 5 years.

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2. The current staff has 7 regular members - 4 researchers (one works part-time), 1 editor (who works also as executive director), and 2 media monitors (who work part-time). In addition, we are working to recruit students interning as part of their academic training.

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3. Fact-Checking political speech generated by politicians is the main activity The Whistle carries out, and it also engages in fact-checking online misinformation. Until mid-June, The Whistle’s fact-checks have been published daily on The Whistle's website and, in shorten version, in its daily section at Globes (print and digital). Since 16 June 2021, both full-length fact-checks and summaries are published on The Whistle's section on Globes website. As part of our online presence, we also publish our content on social media in different formats such as posts, memes, clips, and live broadcasts. The Whistle's team members are also hosted occasionally on different podcasts produced by Globes newspaper.

In March 2019 The Whistle started participating in the 3PFC Program led by Facebook worldwide. In December 2020, After more than a year and a half in the program, The Whistle has ended its partnership with Facebook. The main reason was the concern that participating in the program as part of a competitive newspaper in Israel's small media market may put the newspaper in a conflict of interest and constitute unfair competition, being the only organization in Israel in the program at that time. On 1 December 2020 The Whistle published a full and transparent announcement about its departure from the 3PFC program on the Globes website, explaining thoroughly and honestly the reasons for the decision. This announcement also appears in its full in the "About" section on The Whistle's website.

In the past months The Whistle started a section of fact-checks from across the world, based on checks done by other organizations. The column is published on Sundays and Mondays (print and digital, respectively), in order to inform the readers on mis/disinformation regarding global issues that might find its way to Israel.

In addition to the routine fact-checking, The Whistle also engages in educational activities, focusing on civic studies and media literacy. In the past year team members were invited to speak in different high school and university classes as well as talks and lectures to the general public, teaching basic fact-checking skills and helping develop fundamental methods for critical evaluation of news and online information. As experts in the field, few members of the team are often requested to lecture in various venues, mostly academic, about the general phenomenon of mis/dis-information and its implications to democracy and society. Examples of these activities are: Consultancy in the Idea Youth Research Program of the Tel-Aviv University; a lecture to students from the Israel 2050 Movement of the National Union of Israeli Students; and moderating a pre-election panel held by the Technion Alumni Association.

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4. The goals for the upcoming year include: Expanding into new formats such as interactive and live database, collaborative-public research, and reviving The Whistle's biweekly podcast after a year it's been off; Increasing the engagement with other departments in the newspaper in joint publications, as well as in training in fact-checking and online verification. Unfortunately, due to a revision of The Whistle's methodology, we were not able to reach those goals during the past year.

Compliant as required and as detailed in the applicant's response

The attached spreadsheet represents the variety of publications regularly published by The Whistle between late September 2021 to early September 2022, all of which are of public interest.

Fact-checking articles of rated statements by elected representatives, civil servants, trade union leaders, etc. are published daily on The Whistle's section on Globes' website. The printed version is a summary of the fact-check, the full-length articles are available on the website at the bottom of the shortened version.

Please note: until the merger of The Whistle's website into Globes' website in mid-June 2021, the fact-checking articles in full-length have been published on The Whistle's website and also published in summary on its daily section at Globes, along with an embedded full-length article (see the first sheet on the spreadsheet). The sheet also indicates the party of the speaker and the division between speakers for the coalition and the opposition.

Other publications The Whistle regularly publishes, including fact-checking articles that examined online misinformation, thematic overviews, explainers, fact sheets, and fact-checking articles that examined various claims but were not given a rate, are published in The Whistle's daily section at Globes at full-length along with links to all the relevant sources.

It is important to note that the reason for the duplication in the past of politician fact-checks both on the Whistle's website and in its designated section on the Globes platform - The Whistle's website was originally designed and tailored exclusively to facilitate only items that contain a rated statement by a single politician. Other formats that were developed since the integration into Globes newspaper in 2019 are not suited for this website, while the ability of Globes' platform to facilitate these full-length articles is also limited. Since the integration, there has been no more duplication. The process of integrating the whole variety of formats and publications fully under Globes' platform has been severely delayed due to covid and has taken place in June 2021 instead during 2020. This integration means that all the new information on The Whistle's website appears exclusively on its designated section in the Globes platform, including all the required information about The Whistle's work - methodology, transparency, staff, etc. The original website of course is still online as archives for the old fact-checks and linked to The Whistle’s section, and all of its content will remain public.

As the applicant's spreadsheet shows, they have exceeded the amount and rate of fact checks required to be compliant

The Whistle is focusing on politician's statements, which by default stands to relate to the welfare and well-being of the general Israeli public. A review of the previous three months of fact checks approves this stands correct.

Neither The Whistle nor Globes receive any funding from political or state sources.

Compliant, as described in the applicant's response.

Neither The Whistle nor Globes receive any funding from political or state sources.

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001386272

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001404692

Both fact-checks are of the incumbent Minister of Interior Affairs. In one of them, she got the mark Mostly True, and in the other the mark Wrong. The Minister is considered a right-winger (however, it is important to notice that the outgoing coalition was formed by the left and right parties).

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In this fact-check, we checked two claims on the same issue: the birth rate among the Arab population in Israel. The two claimers were both politicians, one a minister and the second one a member of the Opposition. Both, although they tried to counter each other, stated claims that were marked as Mostly Wrong.

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https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001408241

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001411377

Both fact-checks considered the infection levels of covid-19 and were made by members of the government. The first claim, made by then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, was that covid became endemic and was marked as False. The second claim, made by the Minister of Science and Technology, was that most Israelis were infected with covid, and it was marked as Mostly True.

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https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001402411

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001407982

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001409203

These three fact-checks overviewed claims on the record in the government of the former Prime Minister and current Leader of the Opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, all three made by members of the Likud Party, which is Netanyahu's party and the main Opposition party. One of them received the mark Right, another one the Mark Mostly False, and the one made by Netanyahu himself was marked as Half True.

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https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001415777

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001403885

These fact-checks considered claims on the cost of living crisis. The first one, made by Bennett's party (Rightward), was a claim that under the outgoing government the prices in Israel rose less rapidly compared to the rest of the Western World, while under Netanyahu's governments the costs in Israel rose more rapidly compared to the world. This claim was marked as Misleading. The second one was made by an MP of the Likud Party, who claimed that a study found that the outgoing government is guilty of the rise in the cost of living. This claim was marked as Mostly False.

The selected fact checks present a consistent process and use of high standards of evidence, as well as unbiased conclusions.

The Whistle has a comprehensive fact-checking method that reduces biases to the minimum. Our team examines public statements delivered by key figures in the public and political spheres; elected officials, leaders, and senior civil servants; from all parts of the Israeli political spectrum. Influential social media groups, pages, and profiles that publish political as well as other publicly important content such as scientific or medical, are also monitored regularly, using the CrowdTangle platform and other methods.

The limited scope of the Israeli media and public discourse on social media allows us to scan most of it on a daily basis, especially when it comes to senior figures and popular pages and groups. Through a comprehensive, rapid, and balanced examination of public statements and content, The Whistle seeks to lead a more credible, accurate, and factual public discourse in Israel, regardless of speakers' political affiliation and/or previous statements made by political rivals and/ or allies.

As shown in the attached link above, The Whistle's methodology clearly indicates that only statements based on facts, rather than opinions, are found eligible for research. Moreover, prioritization of the different statements is always done as a team, following a group-discussions (and sometimes debates) focused on the daily findings of The Whistle's media monitoring effort. The statement's relevance to a given controversy, coupled with its reach and potential contribution to the public debate is key to the entire fact-checking process.

Compliant, as described in the applicant's response and in the attached link.

To assess this (and next) criteria , the ten fact checks provided by the applicant were examined, alongside ten randomly-selected fact checks from the last year. The ten randomly selected fact checks:

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001421731

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001421094

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001417326

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001416351

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001415037

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001413965

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001405070

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001400564

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001395685

https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001392597

At large, and as present in the reviewed fact checks, the applicant is almost exclusively using primary and official sources, and uses multiple sources to cross check provided information where relevant.

The reviewed fact checks are covering both sides of the aisle in an impartial manner. No support for specific parties/politicians/policy positions were found in the covered articles.

As seen in the attached link, not only is there full transparency on the background of all staffers, but it clearly indicates that aside from our methodology non-partisanship is also maintained by forbidding direct and active engagement in advocacy or partisan activity by our team members as well as The Whistle altogether.

The link attached by the applicant (the Team page of The Whistle's section at the Globes) shows a clear policy about non-partisanship, as described in the applicant's response.

See criteria 2.3 for randomised sample. 

All sources used in reviewed fact checks were disclosed publicly and linked to when available.

The applicant uses primary sources of evidence almost exclusively, and explains its sourcing of evidence when using secondary ones.

The applicant uses multiple sources where available - and where not, explains its challenges in cross checking or finding suitable sources.

At large, and as present in the reviewed fact checks, the applicant is almost exclusively using primary and official sources, avoiding using partial/biased sources. 

The Whistle was first registered as a non-profit in July 2016 and it had operated as an independent fact-checking organization until January 2019, when it was integrated into Globes financial daily newspaper. While the integration introduced The Whistle as Globes' fact-checking unit, it was based on the mutual understanding that the team would maintain and focus on its original fact-checking mission and all it entailed.

Prior to the integration, it was agreed that while its articles would be published as part of Globes' news section on various platforms (print and digital), it was also made clear that The Whistle would maintain its independence in regard to its methodology, hiring as well as other capacities and therefore would be managed separately. The organizational model that assisted in managing The Whistle since its integration into Globes, which has also proved to be effective and accurate, was one of the fact-checking units within the Washington Post.

Moreover, given that The Whistle has naturally become identified with Globes over the past year, and while there is no longer a separate legal entity, The Whistle is broadly described in Globes' Annual Trust Reports (see here, pages 22-23, here pages 20-21, and here, pages 22-27). The 2019 report (the year of the integration) clearly states that "The Whistle cannot and will not be subjected to Globes' editorial directives, and must maintain its unique mission, its freedom of action and its rigorous methodology which adheres to the standards it was accustomed to prior to the integration".

As stated, The Whistle is nowadays integrated as Globes' fact-checking unit (the fact-checking section or unit of a media house or other parent organization)

See the "Transparency" section on the left bar on The Whistle's section on Globes' website. See also the "About" page.

Compliant, as seen in the attached links.

About

Compliant, as seen in the attached link.

The Team

Compliant, as seen in the attached link.

See the "Contact Us" section on the left bar on The Whistle's section on Globes' website and the "About" page.

Compliant, as seen in the attached link.

About

Compliant, as seen in the attached link.

The Whistle is focusing on politician's statements, which by default stands to relate to the welfare and well-being of the general Israeli public. A review of the previous three months of fact checks and of the randomised sample verifies that.

Review of the randomised sample shows that the applicant is bringing evidence that could both support and undermine the relevant claims examined in its fact checks. Compliant.

Review of the randomised sample shows that the applicant is using the same high standards, regardless of who made the claim. Compliant.

As present both in the methodology of the applicant and in the randomised sample of fact checks, the speakers who made the claims that are fact checked are contacted for response and elaboration/evidence on the claims examined.

We have encouraged the readers to send us claims to check on a few occasions.

For example, after the war in Ukraine broke out, we asked our followers on Twitter to send us suspicious claims.

On Social media, we also thank readers who had sent us claims we decided to check (for example see here and here).

We do not have an everyday campaign to encourage followers to send us claims since we check only public figures and we monitor them systematically. However, followers are keen to send us claims without any campaign.

Compliant (with the caveats detailed), as presented in the applicant's response and also in the open "Contact Us" email link on their website.

The Whistle's online methodology section addresses the case "An Error Occurred". It clearly indicates that "if a mistake is found in the facts, we will correct it as soon as possible with a clear distinctive location in the full-length versions as well as The Whistle's daily section at Globes (both print and digital versions). If the mistake discovered affects the rating that was given, it will also be corrected accordingly".

In more detail, the text clearly states that as "different people may come to different conclusions about any given statement, in case our readers disagree with the details in our articles or with the given rating, they are welcome to contact us and submit their comments. If the comments are accepted and deemed relevant by The Whistle's team, the given rating will be changed accordingly and the revision will be clearly posted online". Following this text is The Whistle's public email account and an invitation to contact the team through its social media accounts.

Compliant, as presented in the applicant's response and link attached.

Compliant, as presented in the applicant's response and the about us/methodology page.

During this past year, The Whistle was criticized by readers and speakers on several occasions and on different grounds. In every case, the claims were thoroughly examined and debated by the team. On several occasions, fixes have been made, although they were not necessarily followed by a change of the mark.

The most striking example is a fact-check of a claim made by Mossi Raz, a Member of the Knesset. Raz Claimed the outgoing coalition (which he is a member of) built in the West Bank as just as government preceded it, and we marked the claim as Right. After the publication we were reached out with some new evidence that changed the picture. After an examination of the evidence we came to the conclusion that the situation is too complicated for our scale of marks. Therefore, we took the fact-check down of Globes' website (it can be read in the attached file, from the printed version), and published a clarification with an explanation about the new evidence. We also published a shortened clarification in the printed newspaper (file is attached).

Another example is this fact-check. The Minister of Education claimed that in Israel pupils study more hours than any other OECD member, but these studies are not effective. We found this claim mostly false and reached the Minister for a primary comment and asked for the source of her claim. She sent us her source, which she misread, but due to human error we missed her approval to publish it, so we wrote that we did not get any public source for the claim. The Minister's spokesperson reached us and showed that the approval was given. Therefore we corrected the online check, as can be seen in the link above, and also published a correction in the next issue of the printed newspaper. However, we did not find that the mark as mostly false should be changed. Attached are the printed versions of the original fact-check and the correction.

The last example is this fact-check. Keti Shitrit, an MK of the Opposition, blamed the government for declaring longer recesses of the Knesset because of the coalition's disfunction. Our examination of the recesses approved by the Knesset Committee we concluded the claim was Mostly Wrong. However, we were told that the coalition did change the initial plan for the recesses, and after we checked the record we saw it really was the case. We published a clarification in the website. However, since according to the record the idea to change the initial timetable came from the Opposition, we did not change the mark.

The examples given by the applicant (and verified by the attached links and files) show it adhered to its corrections policy in multiple occasions. Compliant.

In addition to the "contact us" section, it is noted at the bottom of The Whistle's methodology section that readers that believe it fails to follow the IFCN Code of Principles are able to contact the IFCN directly and showcase their complaints.

Compliant, as presented in the applicant's response and in the attached link.

Globes daily newspaper adheres to the Israel Press Council's ethical code and to a detailed internal ethical code as well (see also here).

As seen under clause #27, it is clearly stated that "Any errors, omissions or misinformation that were included in the publication will be corrected as quickly as possible, with fairness and visibility in correlation with the original publication, and if possible any continued distribution will be stopped. If the good name or dignity of any person is damaged, we will also publish an apology in the appropriate cases".

For example, an article was published with a wrong quote from one of the interviewees, and it was taken down with a clarification.

Another example is this article, which was published with a factual error, which was corrected with a clarification.

Compliant, both in regards to the Israel Press Council's ethical code and Globes' internal ethical code. The examples provided prove adherence to those.