Investigative Journalism in the Public Interest​

CORRECTIV is a non-profit independent newsroom. Through investigative journalism, we expose systematic abuses, hold those in power accountable and strengthen an open and democratic civil society. On this website you will find a selection of our investigations in English. For more stories, visit our German Website.

What we stand for

Journalism has an essential critical and control function in our society. Our research exposes national and international abuses and can be a driving force for social progress. This requires accuracy and perseverance. To this end, we are happy to cooperate with German and international media.
A well-functioning democracy is based on an informed public. In our opinion, everyone has a right to carefully researched information. We are guided by the public interest and therefore make our content available to everyone free of charge.
We conduct our investigations free from political and economic dependencies. Our reporters are guided by the public interest and our work is transparent and verifiable. We choose our topics and activities ourselves.
Targeted disinformation, false claims and half-truths are causing hatred and polarization in public debates around the world. We want to counter this with facts and thus combat the division of our society.
To constructively participate in public and private debates, people need to be more aware of reliable sources. We want to provide citizens with more media competence for an interconnected world. We achieve this by sharing our knowledge and involving people in investigations.
Through our work, we advocate for an open and democratic society. Our goal is to enable people to participate in discussions and democratic processes in a well-informed way and to make the media a catalyst of new social debates. In this respect, we initiate change through our work.

Stories

Here you will find a selection of our investigations in English. For more stories, visit our German Website.

A women entering an elevator filled with dark maculine silhouettes.
Latest Stories

In the Glass Palace – Abuse of Power and Sexual Harassment in the EU Parliament

Behind the scenes, a contentious issue is forcing its way onto the agenda of the EU: Sexual assault and bullying within Parliament itself.

Latest Stories

The EU’s Long Road Towards Sustainable Agriculture

In agriculture, cattle account for more than half of methane and ammonia emissions. MEPs prevent stricter regulation.

Latest Stories

The Green Gas Lie

German gas providers' climate-neutral' claims exposed as greenwashing by CORRECTIV. Deception revealed, climate crisis fueled.

New right

Secret plan against Germany

It was the meeting that nobody was ever meant to find out about. Back in November, high-ranking politicians from Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, neo-Nazis, and sympathetic businesspeople gathered in a hotel near Potsdam. Their agenda? Nothing less than the fine tuning of a plan for the forced deportations of millions of people currently living in Germany.

Latest

How CORRECTIV’s journalism made a difference this year

CORRECTIV's research once again had direct impacts in 2023. We present what has changed for the better.

Waffen aus dem Westen für Russland
International

German rifles for Russia

More than 7000 rifles made by Western manufacturers have entered Russia since the beginning of Russias war in Ukraine.

Picture of Belchatow's power plant in Poland
Europe

Industrial air pollution costs Europe 265 billion euros in one year

Europe's power plants poison our air yearly with tons of pollutants. Companies like PGE, RWE and Vattenfall cost us billions of euros.

Die Collage zeigt einen Bruderkuss zwischen Putin und dem AfD Chrupalla
Latest Stories

Alternative for Russia: How the AfD is systematically turning towards Russia

The German far-right political party Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland) has set its sights on Russia.

Luftbild teilweise abgeholzter Flächen im Gran Chaco in Paraguay.
Latest Stories

Deforestation: German development bank is financing environmental destruction

DEG finances deforestation in Paraguay. Not the first questionable project: Controversial financing has been published by the DEG system.

Latest Stories

Dirty pensions: Climate activists know nothing about their investments in gas and oil

They want to protect the climate, but their pensions come from profits from oil and gas. About a non-transparent financial market and a dilemma.

Latest Stories

Chinese fraudsters systematically smuggle clothing into the EU

Chinese fraudsters smuggling masses of textiles into Europe are evading import fees. The scam is costing the EU billions of euros.

Energy crisis

Vodka, Scholz and Gazprom

This is how young lobbyists celebrated good business with Russia - and fueled gas dependency

Latest Stories

Devastating Supply Chains

EU-Due Diligence Directive: In Brussels, Germany pushes for a limit to company liability. As documents suggest, pressure from Liberals and corporate lobby groups are the cause.

Collage aus LKW und somalischen Al-Shabaab Kämpfern
Latest Stories

Charcoal: Somalia’s burning issue

In Somalia, terrorists and parts of the state profit from the charcoal trade, according to those involved – a trade which is harmful to both nature and the population

amazon paket illustration
Amazon

The Amazon machine

Amazon sends millions of parcels before Christmas in Germany. Powering the logistics giant is a system built on pressure and surveillance.

Latest Stories

The Gazprom-Lobby

How Russia enlisted German politicians, business leaders and lawyers to ensure German dependence on Russian gas.

Pope Benedict in Bavaria - Freising
Latest Stories

Lawsuit Against Former Pope Benedict in Abuse Scandal

A victim seeks justice in a civil court in an abuse scandal of a catholic priest. This trial could set new standards for victims in Germany.

corona-leugner gegner netzwerk
Latest Stories

The European network of corona-deniers

Since the beginning of the pandemic, corona-deniers have been trying to build an international network. But how well connected are they really?

Latest Stories

Barriers to abortion in Germany

Humiliation, lack of information and denied aftercare: Hundreds share their experiences getting an abortion in Germany

Latest Stories

Sanctions Tracker – Live monitoring of all sanctions against Russia

Our Sanction Tracker provides daily updates on the latest embargoes imposed on Russian individuals and entities after the invasion of Ukraine.

Wolkenkratzer-Collage von Cum-Ex-Betrug betroffenen Ländern
Latest Stories

CumEx Files 2.0 – The outrageous tax fraud goes on

CumEx Files 2.0 – 150 billion euros in taxpayer money have been robbed. How bankers, lawyers and the rich continue to evade taxes

CumEx-Files Logo mit Skyline von London im Hintergrund
Latest Stories

The CumEx-Files

How Europe's taxpayers have been swindled of €55 billion. A cross-border investigation.

Latest Stories

CORRECTIV.Faktencheck’s Data Analysis: Facebook and Youtube Are the Most Important Platforms for False Information

Where do people come across false information on the Internet and how do they spread it?

Latest Stories

How is coronavirus impacting you? We want to listen.

With our CrowdNewsroom we provide a platform for you to share experiences and tips. You can help us report how the COVID-19 crisis affects your job.

Latest Stories

Wanted: Influencer, Young, Right-wing

The New Right is putting a lot of effort into building up a network of media outlets and influencers, very often used to spread disinformation. Young YouTubers like Niklas Lotz, with his channel “Neverforgetniki”, or Naomi Seibt benefit from this. We reveal who lent a hand in their ascent.

Latest Stories

CORRECTIV publishes graphic novel on Congo massacres

The graphic novel is another example of our efforts to combine journalism and art.

the cumex files
Latest Stories

The CumEx Files

How Europe's taxpayers have been swindled of €55 billion.

Latest Stories

The Girl in Abidjan

Western Africa is an important hub for cocaine shipments from Latin America to Europe. The Ivory Coast could be a new knot in the smuggling network of the Italian ‘ndrangheta. The country is home to a mafia boss’ daughter who took refuge in the country after a doomed love affair forced her to leave Italy. But once you’re family, you’re never out of the reach of the ‘ndrangheta, as this investigation shows.

Stories

The Storm

Latest Stories

The #GenerationE about itself

Since the beginning ot the year we have been reporting about the GenerationE – young Southern Europeans who moved to Northern Europe. More than 2400 people filled in our questionnaire which we published in collaboration with several Southern European media organizations. Every few days we introduce you to one of these people on our Tumblr. Now we took a look at the blogs these expats write. They provide an interesting picture of the GenerationE – between pride and prejudice.

Legosteine
Latest Stories

Lego bricks for Ai Weiwei

Danish toy maker Lego declines to supply Ai Weiwei with its bricks. The Chinese artist is not supposed to use them in political art. So we are filling in. Let's send thousands of bricks to Ai Weiwei.

Latest Stories

Spat over Germany’s ‘best-ever world cup team camp’

World cup winner Germany stayed at the Campo Bahia team camp in Brazil. The hotel was built by German fashion entrepreneur Christian Hirmer. A business man living in Brazil has now sued Hirmer, alleging breach of contract. The complaint for the first time sheds light on the project and how much the German federation has spent for its stay, approximately 65 000 euros per day.

Fact-Checking

CORRECTIV.Faktencheck is an independent team within CORRECTIV focussing on fact-checking and investigations into mis- and disinformation since 2017. It is a signatory of the Code of Principles by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

Fact-checking

Inside Doppelganger – How Russia uses EU companies for its propaganda

How Doppelganger, one of the biggest Russian disinformation campaigns, is using EU companies to keep spreading its propaganda – despite sanctions.

Fact-checking

Hacks and Propaganda: Meet the Two Brothers Bringing Russia’s Cyber War to Europe

Two Moldovan brothers’ companies, Stark Industries Solutions and PQ Hosting, provide technology for Russian propaganda and hacking attacks, a CORRECTIV investigation shows.

chatbots_germany_chatgpt_openai_google_gemini_microsoft_copilot
Fact-checking

Don’t Bother Asking AI About the EU Elections: How Chatbots Fail When It Comes to Politics

We asked three of the best-known AI chatbots questions on the upcoming EU election. Our experiment shows: Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT fail when it comes to answering political questions.

Fact-checking

Politicians of Germany’s far-right AfD are benefitting from a pro-Russian propaganda campaign. Here is how.

A disinformation campaign is agitating against Ukraine. Politicians of Germany's far-right party „Alternative für Deutschland“ also seem to benefit from it.

Dieser Screenshot stammt aus einer russischen Propaganda-Serie
Fact-checking

Facebook silent as pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign rages on

Despite Facebook’s supposed takedown last year, a pro-Russian disinformation campaign continues to be active on the social-media platform.

Research by CORRECTIV.Faktencheck shows that the same network with ties to Russia could be behind both disinformation campaigns
Fact-checking

Forged government documents and fake news sites: Russian disinformation campaign targets Germany

A network of fake news sites has been flooding Europe and targets Germany. The Russian campaign also entails forged government documents.

RTDE logo on several screens
Fact-checking

“With a few simple steps“: How RT DE circumvents the EU sanctions

In March the EU banned RT, formerly known as Russia Today. Since then, its German version RT DE has used digital loopholes to bypass the ban.

eine Karte von Europa mit vernetzten Punkten
Fact-checking

“The fight is the same”: How “Unser Mitteleuropa” is building a network of right-wing media in Europe

They stir up hatred against migration or spread misinformation: Media outlets from eleven European countries are cooperating to increase their influence. At the heart of it all: the website “Unser Mitteleuropa”

Fact-checking

Monitoring Disinformation around Elections: Key Takeaways from the German Federal Elections in 2021

This report details the knowledge that CORRECTIV.Faktencheck has gained by monitoring mis- and disinformation during German elections.

Lyudmila Denisova
Fact-checking

Reports of sexual violence in the war: Why the Ukrainian parliament dismissed Human Rights Chief Denisova

The Ukrainian parliament dismissed Human Rights Chief Lyudmila Denisova amid claims that she spoke unethically about rape and sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians. Some German-language websites accuse her of inventing cases all together. What truth is there to these accusations?

Kyiv
Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: War in Ukraine

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, German social media has been flooded with misinformation and images shared out of context.

Company building of biontech
Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: BioNTech’s political meddling

Did Uğur Şahin, CEO of BioNTech, threaten to suspend all political donations?

Snippet from a video
Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: The refugee train

Half-empty beer bottles, rubbish on the floor, graffiti... but who vandalised this train?

Cash machine
Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: Russian sanctions

Last week, Twitter users claimed their accounts were being closed due to Russian sanctions - what was really going on?

In Canmore Kanada wehte 2019 die DDR-Flagge.
Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: A DDR flag at the Winter Olympics

This week, misinformation spread online about an East German flag at the Winter Olympics.

Menschenmenge auf einem Platz
Fact-checking

Fake News of the Week: Two million march in Ottawa

This week, misinformation spread online claiming to show two million people in the streets

Omid Nouripour (rechts) wurde gemeinsam mit Ricarda Lang zum Nachfolger an der Parteispitze der Grünen gewählt. Zuvor führten Annalena Baerbock und Robert Habeck die Partei
Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: Do the Greens want Sharia law?

Online misinformation targeted Green co-leader Omid Nouripour

Aufnahme des Rettungshubschraubers Christoph 31 beim Start an der Berliner Charité
Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: The anti-vax helicopter pilot

Did this heroic rescue helicopter pilot take a principled stand against vaccination? (he didn't)

Das Bild zeigt nicht den Verteidigungsminister von Russland, sondern einen Landwirtschaftsminister und um Annalena Baerbock geht es auch nicht
Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: Annalena Baerbock’s secret weapon

What was Putin really laughing about?

corona-leugner gegner netzwerk
Latest Stories

The European network of corona-deniers

Since the beginning of the pandemic, corona-deniers have been trying to build an international network. But how well connected are they really?

Fact-checking

Fake news of the week: The Berlin power cut

On January 9, Berlin experienced a significant power cut. Soon afterwards, misinformation spread online about its cause

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International investigations require international cooperation. Become part of our network and help draw attention to abuses across borders. Contact us to investigate with us.

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Do you have any tips or suggestions for potential investigations? Do you have documents or other material that we should examine more closely? Contact us – even anonymously if you wish. Help us report on important abuses.

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