Methodology

Fakt Yoxla aims to verify the accuracy of statements made by politicians, including the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, and government officials, as well as public figures. It checks their statements, promises, and news published in media resources in the country. During the verification process, "Fact Check" adheres to the following principles:

Commitment to non-partisanship

One of Fakt Yoxla's goals is to contribute to objective and fair journalism. Fakt Yoxla uses the same standard for every fact check according to methodology. It does not concentrate its fact-checking on any one side. It follows the same process for every fact check and lets the evidence dictate the conclusions. There is a clear obligation for fact-checkers to be objective and follow methodology rules while writing an article. They have to keep their prejudices out of every article and only look at the actual facts. Every article is checked by the team to avoid the risk of any individual point of view. Team members are not allowed to contribute or be members of any political party or advocacy organisation to avoid any potential conflict of interest.  

The editorial procedures for articles

The methodology and work process of Fakt Yoxla are complex: before the research article is published on the website, it goes through several key stages.

Fakt Yoxla evaluates statements not based on the prominence of the author but on the relevance of the information voiced in the statement. It is also significant to mention that we do not fact-check politicians' evaluative statements or their individual views on any particular matter.

Firstly, the Fakt Yoxla team permanently monitors the statements of public figures published in different media outlets. Fakt Yoxla regularly follows and monitors the flow of trends in social media and the statements made by public figures. During the monitoring process, each member of the monitoring group individually finds out and indicates the statements are of public importance. While selecting the claims, priority is given to the claims that may pose a severe threat towards public health and democratic governance and may lead to manipulation of public opinion regarding political, legal, economic, and COVID-19-related issues. The targets are TV channels directly and indirectly funded from the state budget (including private TV), news websites that broadcast in Azerbaijan and are ranked in the top 100 by reliable rating agencies, and materials published on social media accounts with more than 10,000 followers.

After the fundamental research topics are selected, the team members gather again, and every individual member of the team introduces the recorded statements to the rest of the team. Subsequently, the most interesting and verifiable statements of the compiled list are chosen by the fact-checkers together with the group leaders. After the chosen statements are appointed to different team members of Fakt Yoxla, they start the actual work on the articles/research. In the course of the research, Fakt Yoxla uses multiple open sources as well as interviews with different public figures and experts in various fields. Another important point of our research is the public information requested from government agencies. If necessary, Fakt Yoxla members immediately reach out to the authors of the statements or their representatives to clarify specific aspects of the claim made or to inquire about the source used by the politician.

After collecting all possible data on the topics, the fact-checker concludes the article by applying a suitable fact-meter scale. After each article is meticulously reviewed by the editor and chief editor, the author adds final touches and wraps up the article. The research is considered to be complete when it shows no signs of partisanship and leaves no questions for the reader. Finally, the article is published on the website.

Correction policy

During the fact-checking process, we acknowledge that there may be instances where we could make mistakes. Therefore, if any reader or politicians whose statements were checked by Fakt Yoxla do not agree with our research and verdict, Fakt Yoxla offers them to send suitable argumentation in written form. The received proofs will be closely analysed by Fakt Yoxla, and in case of their validity, Fakt Yoxla will revise or amend its research as well as the verdict accordingly.

If an important piece of information is added to the research/article but does not change the verdict, we revise our article; however, if the added piece of information changes the issued verdict, the article is corrected. This practice ensures maximum objectivity and political impartiality in Fakt Yoxla’s work.

You can read the correction policy here.

Scales

Fakt Yoxla uses different scales based on the content of the material it publishes.

Fakt Yoxla’s ratings for the factual accuracy of the statements are as follows:

True – The statement is accurate, and there is nothing significant missing;

Mostly True – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information; 

Half  True – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context;

Mostly False – The statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression;

False – The statement is not accurate;

Lie – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.

Manipulation with facts - The statement refers to accurate information that is evaluated in the wrong context.

Unverified - There are insufficient sources to conclude whether the statement is true or false.

If Fakt Yoxla checks promises made by politicians or state institutions in the past, the following scale is used:

Promise Kept - The promise made has been completely fulfilled.

Promise Partially Kept - The promise made has been significantly fulfilled but not entirely.

Promise Not Kept - The promise made has not been fulfilled at all.

Incorrect photos and videos published nationally or on social media are generally labelled as fake news.

If you believe that Fakt Yoxla violates the IFCN code, you may inform the IFCN using the complaint page on the IFCN website.