Correctiv”: Financing raises questions about the truth of the content

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In the world of naturopathy, where accuracy and transparency are essential, the funding of the investigative network “Correctiv” raises important questions. It is important to look closely at the financial sources of this network, which recently attracted attention with a report of a suspected “secret meeting.” Since “Correctiv” was founded in 2013 with start-up funding of three million euros from the Brost Foundation, part of the Funke media group, the network has opened up various financing channels. By 2018, the Brost Foundation had contributed a total of 3.8 million euros. The Luminate Foundation, founded by Pierre Omidyar, the initiator of eBay, plays a central role in international financing. In the …

In der Welt der Naturheilkunde, wo Genauigkeit und Transparenz essentiell sind, wirft die Finanzierung des Investigativnetzwerks „Correctiv“ wichtige Fragen auf. Eine genaue Betrachtung der finanziellen Quellen dieses Netzwerks, das kürzlich durch einen Bericht über ein vermutliches „Geheimtreffen“ Aufsehen erregte, ist von Bedeutung. Seit der Gründung von „Correctiv“ im Jahr 2013 mit einer Anschubfinanzierung von drei Millionen Euro durch die Brost-Stiftung, ein Teil der Funke Mediengruppe, hat das Netzwerk diverse Finanzierungswege erschlossen. Bis 2018 trug die Brost-Stiftung insgesamt 3,8 Millionen Euro bei. Eine zentrale Rolle in der internationalen Finanzierung spielt die Luminate-Stiftung, gegründet von Pierre Omidyar, dem Initiator von eBay. Im …
Accuracy and transparency are essential in reporting

Correctiv”: Financing raises questions about the truth of the content

In the world of naturopathy, where accuracy and transparency are essential, the funding of the investigative network “Correctiv” raises important questions. It is important to look closely at the financial sources of this network, which recently attracted attention with a report of a suspected “secret meeting.”

Since “Correctiv” was founded in 2013 with start-up funding of three million euros from the Brost Foundation, part of the Funke media group, the network has opened up various financing channels. By 2018, the Brost Foundation had contributed a total of 3.8 million euros.

The Luminate Foundation, founded by Pierre Omidyar, the initiator of eBay, plays a central role in international financing. In 2022, their contribution amounted to 636,000 euros, bringing the total funding from the foundation to 2.1 million euros. In addition, “Correctiv” received support from George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, with a total of 429,000 euros over five years.

German tax money also flows into the financing of “Correctiv”. The Schöpflin Foundation has provided 1.5 million euros since 2015, and the Mercator Foundation has contributed more than 500,000 euros since 2019. In 2022, contributions from German taxpayers totaled 624,000 euros, with North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal budget making significant contributions.

The financial details of the partnership between “Correctiv” and Facebook as a fact checker are not completely transparent. It is estimated that Correctiv receives between $900 and $1,800 per fact verified from Facebook.

In 2019, David Schraven, the managing director of “Correctiv”, announced that the income from the cooperation with Facebook would flow to a commercial subsidiary. This revelation has led to discussions about a potential circumvention of nonprofit rules by “Correctiv.”

In an industry that insists on accurate facts and accurate reporting, these funding details raise important questions about Correctiv's independence and objectivity, particularly with regard to its political reporting.

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