EUfactcheck in 2024-2025

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.

Latest fact-checks

True: EU makes significant progress on gender equality ahead of the upcoming elections

On March 8th, 2024, the Politico.eu website published an article entitled: “If far right surges in EU election, women’s rights could be imperiled”.  The first part of the article from politico.eu presents theoretical analysis of how the upcoming elections for the European Parliament can affect women’s rights, especially in light of the growth of far-…

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True: Supporters of full confiscation of Russian assets have increased in European Parliament

On April 24, 2024, journalist Yuriy Kobzar wrote an article for the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN about the increasing support within the European Parliament for fully confiscating Russian assets, citing a Deutsche Welle (DW) report. This claim is accurate. The article details a growing movement among European Parliament members advocating for the confiscation and reallocation…

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True: “WHO reports significant increase in cholera cases”

In an article entitled “WHO reports significant increase in cholera cases”, published on 24 September 2023 by Tagesschau, a significant increase in cholera cases is reported. This claim turns out to be true. Twice as many cholera cases as in 2021 The article highlights the increase in cholera cases from 2021 and 2022 and states…

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Mostly False: 680,000 Libyan migrants will arrive in Europe specifically Germany

In a Facebook post from March 21st, 2023, German AFD politician Jonas Dünzel claimed that 680,000 migrants are waiting in Libya to continue their journey to Europe, specifically Germany. This statement is mostly false as there are 680,000 migrants currently on route through Libya, however, Germany is currently not listed as a destination. The claim…

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Mostly true: “Banning nuclear energy is the stupidest thing a country can do”

On April 18th of this year, Bart de Wever, the leader of the political opposition party the New-Flemish Alliance claimed on Twitter that ‘banning nuclear energy is the stupidest thing a country can do’. The tweet lacks context but contains accurate numbers. It appears this claim is mostly true. Bart De Wever tweeted a screenshot…

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Mostly True: In the past season, 961 games in amateur football were canceled due to violence and discrimination

On August 29, 2023, the online newspaper “Welt” published an article with the headline “Game cancellations in amateur football – DFB names shocking figures”. The article claims that in the past 2022/23 season, 961 games in amateur football were canceled due to violence and discrimination. The claim is considered: mostly true. For better understanding, the…

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True: Migratory birds are threatened by climate change

The impact of climate change on animals and nature is a recurring research topic. But according to the news website n-tv also the habitats of migratory birds are threatened by climate change. This claim turns out to be true. Climate change is affecting most coastal areas and their inhabitants, such as migratory birds that stop…

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Uncheckable: EU spends trillions to slow climate change by 0.05 degrees

An article in the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) by Bjørn Lomborg from 2013 claims that the EU is spending trillions of euros to reduce global warming by just 0.05 degrees Celsius. According to current research, the costs could be significantly higher. The effect of the measures on global warming remains unclear. Scientific forecasts come…

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Mostly True: Significant increase in abortions in Germany since 2022

An article in the German magazine “der Spiegel” claims that the number of abortions in Germany has been increasing significantly since 2022. The fact check shows: Mostly True. The article in “Der Spiegel” magazine refers to statistics from the Federal Statistical Office. Taking a look at the figures from the Federal Statistical Office, they show…

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Mostly True: EU policies do not favour sustainable production or consumption

The World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) claims that “EU policies do not favor sustainable producion or consumpion”. By checking the credibility of the source and analyzing the statements of the EU Commission, we conclude that the claim is mostly true. Understanding food security and sustainability in the EU The EU is increasingly focusing on sustainable and…

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Latest blog posts

Blog: Between St. Patrick and the Pope – How hard it is not to be a Catholic

Based on our fact check Mostly true : “Catholic Church loses members – Europe-wide”, we examined membership figures from five countries in Europe. Among them, some Catholic strongholds are already named in the original source. Our experience? The ways of the Church are unfathomable. The headlines surrounding the scandals of the Catholic Church are piling…

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Media analysis: Brexit aftermath through the lens of leading newspapers in Spain, France and the United Kingdom

Brexit became a reality at the end of 31st December 2020. Depending on the media, perspectives about this event have been different. In this media analysis, we have thoroughly examined nine articles from three leading newspapers in three countries: La Vanguardia (Spain), Le Monde (France) and The Guardian (United Kingdom). These three newspapers were chosen…

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Blog: The Mediterranean, a far-right sea of misinformation

On November 26th 2019, Jorge Buxadé, Spanish delegate for the far-right political party VOX at the European Parliament, made a speech in which he affirmed that the current government’s immigration policies are to blame for making Spain’s coasts “the principal entrance for illegal immigration in Europe”. In our fact-check we analysed these assertions to prove…

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European Journalism Training Association EJTA
Council of Europe
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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