Editorial independence
Our organization has put in place the following standards to safeguard our independence and impartiality.
Non-partisanship
Science Feedback is not editorially controlled by a state, a political party or a politician and does not focus investigations on one particular political party. Our editors select articles and claims for review from a variety of media—regardless of where they lay on the political spectrum—according to their influence on social media (typically measured by Buzzsumo, Crowdtangle or other social media listening tools), the quantity or degree of claimed scientific evidence within the reporting, and potential relevance to shaping public debate. The vast majority of the sources we check are not politicians, but individuals making statements on scientific topics.
While Science Feedback works in partnership with a number of social media platforms, platforms do not determine what content we decide to review nor do they influence the conclusions of our review.
Science Feedback ensures that our staff are not directly involved in political parties or advocacy organizations that could bias their neutrality and undermine their commitment to scientific accuracy.
Science Feedback does not employ any person who holds a salaried or prominent position in a political party, government, or public company under the direct control of a political party or government and will not ask or advise readers to vote for any political parties, candidates for public office.
Science Feedback does not conclude any agreement or partnership with a political party and will address any reasonable conflict of interest or bias from the experts or organizations we quote or who contribute to our reviews.
We do not accept donations from private interests that may benefit from distorting scientific research. These include pharmaceutical companies and the fossil fuel industry.
Science Feedback’s employees are not permitted to make political statements in the name of the operation nor are they permitted to accept any gifts, favors, or services with advantageous conditions in a working environment that go beyond common social and courtesy items.
Advocacy guidelines
Science Feedback is dedicated to science education and does not support any political candidate or party. Science Feedback’s advocacy efforts are centered on our participation in the EU-sponsored Code of Practice on Disinformation, which we have signed in October 2022. The Code brings together actors from the entire online information ecosystem: regulators, large platforms, adtech companies, civil society organizations, and fact-checkers.
Participation in the Code is central to our mission of making credible information more accessible online. Our day-to-day involvement with the Code revolves around two main issues: how to measure platforms’ efforts when it comes to curbing the spread of misinformation, and how to respond to crises that spill over into the information environment. In addition, we joined a working group dedicated to fact-checking which has been set up within the Code. Details of our activity under the Code can be found here.
These standards have been inspired by the European Fact-Checking Standards Network’s Code of Practice.