EUfactcheck #10 ‘EU Elections 2024’

This spring season students from the EJTA journalism schools will once again check statements about topics in the upcoming EU elections. In their home universities and in cooperation with students from other EJTA schools they will produce fact checks, analyses and blogs. We expect to publish the first posts in early April. Follow us here or on  X and on our Facebook page.

EUfactcheck, an initiative of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA) fights misinformation about European policies and topics. Journalism students from all over Europe factcheck claims made by politicians and others and rate them. Our focus is not to debunk fake news or disinformation but to give correct information to the reader.

Latest fact-checks

True: Slovenia calls an end to its coronavirus epidemic, relaxes some border controls

Reuters has published a topic concerning “Slovenian government called an official end to its coronavirus epidemic, becoming the first European country to do so” on 15th of May 2020. Wrote by Marja Novak, The claim turns out to be true. The Slovenian government late on Thursday called an official end to its coronavirus epidemic, becoming…

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Mostly true: The chance to get infected with coronavirus is smaller outside than inside

The coronavirus has been infecting people worldwide for over half a year now. We know more and more about the disease that causes Covid-19. It plays a substantial role in our lives nowadays and many statements are made about the virus. Thierry Baudet, leader of the Dutch political party Forum for Democracy (FVD) said, at…

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True: European Commission will finance the development of media literacy of the Russians in a context of pandemic

The information about the intention of the European Commission to finance development of media literacy in Russia was published on the website of Russian international news channel RT on April 15, 2020. It is reported that EC is going to provide EUR 3.200.000 within the framework of the grant for the promotion and protection the freedom…

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Mostly true: There is outdated legislation in Scandinavia when it comes to rape

Amnesty International published an article on April 3, 2019 on the flawed legal system in Scandinavian countries. “The law leaves victims of sexual violence out in the cold.” We checked whether Amnesty International’s article on the flawed legal system, when it comes to rape, is correct. Little has changed since then in the Scandinavian countries.

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Mostly true: “While Greece and Malta are rejecting migrants, in 2020 in Italy more than 5000 sans-papiers arrived, despite the pandemic”

Matteo Salvini, former Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and leader of the largest right-wing party, “The League”, claimed in a well-known Italian tv show that “while Greece and Malta are rejecting boatloads of immigrants, in Italy in 2020 more than 5000 sans-papiers arrived by sea, despite the pandemic. He added that arrivals were only 1500…

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fact checking

Mostly False: “The pesticide mancozeb is a relatively harmless substance”

On the 13th of March, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an article concerning banning the pesticide mancozeb. In the article Jeroen Voorbraak, director of UPL Breda, states that mancozeb is a relatively harmless substance and that it has not been shown to cause Parkinson’s disease or to have hormone-disrupting properties. His claim turns out to…

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False: “Gargles with warm water, salt or vinegar eliminate corona virus”

A supposed corona virus prevention formula was circulating on the internet in previous months. According to the text, shared on the WhatsApp platform by Brazilian users, gargling with water, salt and vinegar is sufficient to eliminate the virus from the person’s throat, where it “stays for four days before going to her lung” (data given…

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fact-check uncheckable

Uncheckable: “Trains are 10 times more environmentally friendly than airplanes”

The Belgian and Austrian railway companies NMBS and ÖBB claim that the new night train between Brussels and Vienna is 10 times more environmentally friendly than airplanes. This claim was published in many Belgian media as ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’, ‘Knack’ and ‘Dewereldmorgen’. The claim turns out to be uncheckable. Both NMBS and ÖBB were unable…

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Latest blog posts

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evens foundation
Group photo EUFACTCHECK 240119

The EUFACTCHECK project

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.

Our history

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 

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