On 15 April 2026, Péter Magyar made an appearance on the Hungarian state channel M1, where he criticised the country’s media landscape and accused the government of overspending on propaganda. The claim is impossible to verify, but likely overstated. Péter Magyar is the leader of the Tisza Party, who also became Hungary’s new prime minister…
In a speech released by the United Nations, the Secretary-General António Guterres made a mostly false statement on May 3, 2026, for Press Freedom Day. “Eighty-five percent of the crimes committed against journalists go uninvestigated and unpunished: an unacceptable level of impunity,” he stated. Why is the percentage of crimes against journalists difficult to measure?…
Reporters Without Borders published the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, which demonstrates that while Western European countries hold high positions in press freedom, Russia and Belarus rank among the lowest globally. In its research, RSF stated that in these two countries, the authorities use anti-terrorism and anti-extremism laws to prosecute both domestic and international journalists…
An article by “Al Jazeera” from March 2026 claims that “more journalists have been killed in Gaza since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, than in the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, the wars in the former Yugoslavia and the coalition invasion of Afghanistan –…
A university seminar room, cross-referencing data, verifying sources, this is how most people imagine the craft of fact-checking during their studies. However, during our international “EUFactChecking” lab, we quickly realized that research can take on very real, highly sensitive, and geopolitical dimensions. It is an experience that taught us about the fact-checking process itself, 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,…