In May 2024 the EUfactcheck programme successfully factchecked the EU elections for the second time. From academic year 2024-205 onwards the EUfactcheck programme will offer two different ‘tracks’ for EJTA member schools to participate.
* Individual schools can still use the EUfactcheck website as a platform to publish their students’ factchecks. This can be done at any convenient moment throughout the year, that fits the curriculum of the study programme. Please contact the EUfactcheck editorial team.
* Each year another EJTA member school will organise an intensive factchecking week, the EUfactcheck Lab, funded by Erasmus short mobility. Other EJTA member schools are welcome to join with up to 6 students and one teacher (Erasmus Blended Intensive Programme). Please contact the EUfactcheck programme manager for more details. In 2024 the EUfactcheck Lab covered the EU elections, in 2025 the topic is ‘Climate Reporting’.
EUfactcheck, an initiative of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA) fights mis- and disinformation about European policies and topics. Journalism students from all over Europe factcheck claims and statements made by politicians and others and rate them. Our focus is not to debunk fake news but to give correct information to the reader.
During a government survey in the German Bundestag on December 4, 2024, politician Caren Lay (Left Party) claimed that rents had never risen as sharply in the history of the Republic as they did during the term of the previous government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The claim turns out to be mostly true. Record rents…
On the 22nd of February 2025, Flemish right-wing satirical news outlet ‘tScheldt published an article in which they claimed that the Flemish weekly magazine Knack had been receiving US taxpayer money for years. ‘tScheldt claimed this money was being used to spread woke ideologies abroad. The claim turns out to be mostly false. ‘tScheldt is a…
On March 6, 2025, Associated Press published an article that states “Albania shuts down TikTok for a year amid concerns over violence among children”. This claim turns out to be true. Тhe consideration of the ban was announced earlier in December by the Albanian Prime Minister as a plan to make schools safer. As a…
In numerous media appearances, Jan van Aken, co-chair of German party Die Linke, has expressed his opposition to increasing Germany’s defence budget. He argues this point by highlighting the superiority of the European NATO states over Russia, citing a yearly difference of $130 billion in defence spending. This statement turned out to be mostly false.…
Christine Anderson, a member of the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group, claimed in a Strasbourg plenary session at the European Parliament, that Romania barring Călin Georgescu from running in the presidential election is unprecedented and undemocratic. This statement is false. “Romania has now barred Călin Georgescu, as my colleague Mr Piperea just pointed out. This…
On January 18, 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Germany aims to become one of the first industrialized nations to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. This statement is mostly true. Legal Framework and National Targets The Climate Change Act (KSG) enshrines the goal of climate neutrality by 2045. It stipulates…
On 24 February 2024, an interview with Sahra Wagenknecht, chairwoman of the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht party, appeared in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). FAZ is a German newspaper. In this interview, Wagenknecht stated: “Ms. Weidel does not represent far-right positions but rather conservative and economically liberal ones.” This statement turned out to be false. This fact-check focuses on the first part…
Martin Huber, Secretary General of the Christian Social Union (CSU), criticized the priorities of the German government coalition (“Ampel-Koalition”) in a post on X, claiming that the government invests substantial funds in global development projects while failing to support German farmers. While his statement is mostly accurate, some contextual clarifications are necessary. On January 19,…
On September 13, 2023, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated during her State of the Union address that the European Union (EU) is attracting more investments in clean hydrogen than the US and China combined. This statement aligns with the context of the European Green Deal and the ambitious goal of establishing the…
Friedrich Merz, federal chairman and chancellor candidate of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said in an ARD television interview that most of the recipients of citizen’s benefit are able to work. This statement is mostly false. “We have got 5.5 – 5.6 million citizen’s benefit recipients in Germany, around 4 millions of whom are able…
“Without the many shifts in a café in Germany, I would never have been able to afford my Erasmus semester here”. Lisa Obst, Erasmus student in Barcelona, explains what many young people in Europe are currently experiencing: Housing is becoming a luxury good. And hers is not an isolated case. Rising rents are not just…
Verifying numerical data is a significant challenge for many people. It requires time and effort, which are often in short supply in everyday life. Especially in areas that are outside one’s personal expertise, there is a tendency to trust the accuracy of media reports – often without questioning whether a so-called fact-check is actually correct.…
Germany’s Self-Determination Act is an example for the increase in visibility and discussion surrounding transgender identity within the EU. However, discrimination against transgender individuals persists, highlighting the ongoing need for greater acceptance and equality. To address misconceptions surrounding trans identity, we explore common myths with insights from experts and those directly affected. The topic Transidentity…
Experts warn of the consequences of rising seas due to climate change. Our reporter Lennart Platz travelled to a place where future generations will soon be getting their feet wet – the Wadden Sea World Heritage. RESEARCH | ARTICLE – Lennart Platz and Moritz Orth, Jade University of Applied Sciences, Germany Leave your comments, thoughts,…
In today’s fast-paced media landscape, discussions about older people’s ability to drive often drift into tricky territory, rife with stereotypes and prejudice. But is there more to the stereotypes than meets the eye? In this blog post, we have a closer look at how senior citizens are portrayed in the media and what responsibility the…
“You’re not from the FAZ or another major media outlet.” This incidental comment during our research for our factcheck on the rise in cholera numbers resonates in our minds and illustrates a bitter reality: journalists outside of large editorial offices are fighting against invisibility and a lack of respect. Our research work during the factcheck,…
A video titled “Bulgaria in the EU”, was published on April 7th 2024 in the YouTube channel EU Made Simple, in the video main topics are Bulgaria’s representation in the European Parliament and the European Commission. We decided to check how our country is represented in the video before European election in June. Bulgaria as part…
Climate change is one of the biggest problems in the world, but it can no longer be stopped. The political goals are at risk and the resulting consequences are not yet predictable. Homes destroyed and at least 135 deceased people: In July 2021, Europe looked on in horror at the idyllic Ahr Valley in Germany.…
In the past years a dangerous wave of discrimina6on and violence has been sweeping through amateur football, which has led to a rise in game cancella6ons. This ar6cle shines a light on the concerning development through the eyes of a referee and shows how the fair play aspect can once again gain more importance and…
The number of abortions is increasing and the birth rate is continuing to decline in Germany. Women not only encounter personal challenges, but also digital hate being in this situation. Helpers such as grief counselor Simone Streif and head of the pro familia counseling center Jana Rabsztyn experience pressure from the outside as well. A…
EUFACTCHECK is the fact-checking project of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA) that intends to build a sustainable curriculum unit on fact-checking within a European network of Journalism schools.
Through fact-checking European political claims and trying to tackle misinformation, we want our students and our public to grow a deeper insight and interest in democratic processes, both on national and European level.
EUFACTCHECK wishes to motivate fact-based debate in the EU and to stimulate media and information literacy.
After the success of the students’ publications, the participants of EJTA’s fact-checking project EUFACTCHECK decided at the EJTA AGM in Paris (July 2019) to move on with the project and to take new steps in the academic year 2019-2020.
By January-February 2019 a manual with guidelines and tips & tricks was published. In February 2020 a second Bootcamp will be organised in Ljubljana, with financial help from the Evens Foundation. This Train the Trainer focused on Central Eastern European countries, some new schools joined this project.
During corona the EJTA-schools continued to verify claims and publish fact checks. Now we are looking ahead to the 2024 EU elections.
For information about the EUfactcheck project please contact the programme manager: carien.touwen@hu.nl
