At Maldita.es we are dedicated to fighting disinformation. We often do this by fact-checking hoaxes, but also in other ways: creating technology to help people distinguish what is real from what is false, teaching in schools and universities, and advocating for transparency from public administrations. And, of course, engaging with politicians and institutions.
Why? Because we need to explain what we do and what they can do to tackle disinformation. We want to show them why certain measures may be effective and, above all, share the evidence that supports our positions. Since 2020, a specific unit within Maldita.es has focused on improving public policy.
We are sharing this because we have published our rules for awareness-raising, public policy, and lobbying activities. These are clear guidelines so our team knows what it can and cannot do, but also so you know exactly the limits we set when interacting with political actors and institutions. Some of the principles we follow include:
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We only engage in lobbying on issues directly related to our mission: disinformation, fact-checking, journalism, media literacy, information technologies, transparency, and freedom of expression.
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We are committed to transparency. When we promote a policy, we will publicly explain our reasons and record all related meetings with political actors or public officials.
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Our awareness, public policy, and lobbying activities are clearly separated from our editorial work to ensure our editorial independence is never compromised.
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Maldita.es will never officially support a political party or candidate, and holding a political position is incompatible with working with us.
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Our positions may evolve based on new scientific evidence, and any changes will be made public along with the reasons behind them.
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We will not accept funding that depends on adopting specific policy positions or engaging in activities outside our mission.
All these rules are based on the principles of transparency and independence, which we believe will help us do better work in the field of public policy and clarify any doubts about our role.
This work is ongoing
For some time now, we have considered it essential to share our journalistic experience with institutions. In Spain, we have explained why we want to engage with all political parties represented in the Congress of Deputies, but many of the key debates on regulating disinformation take place at the European level.
In 2017, we were part of the High-Level Expert Group on fake news of the European Commission. More recently, we have been involved in drafting the new European Code of Practice on Disinformation alongside major digital platforms, and we have contributed to discussions on the Digital Services Act and its potential impact on disinformation.
To help design effective policies, it is crucial to have good data and collaborate with others. Maldita.es leads the European Fact-Checking Standards Network project to develop a Code of Professional Integrity for independent European fact-checking organizations, and we are also part of the consortium behind Iberifier, the observatory of disinformation in Spain and Portugal within the European Digital Media Observatory network. Recently, we have also joined the EDMO task force on the Ukraine crisis.