B
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●● high
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q4Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q4BHistory grows each quarter
CORRECTIV: Investigative journalism funded by donations that moved a country. The letter is B; certainty is high. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q4; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
CORRECTIV was founded in 2014, as newspapers under financial pressure cut the staff who did investigative work, as Germany's first non-profit newsroom. It is funded by donations and foundation grants, takes no advertising, publishes free of charge and supplies its stories to other outlets. It has around 70 permanent staff and some 500 citizens who help with investigations.
Its subjects are financial crime, far-right networks, disinformation, and structural problems in health care and housing. In January 2024 it published an investigation into a secret meeting in Potsdam at which far-right politicians and businesspeople had discussed plans for the mass 'remigration' of immigrants; the story brought around a million people onto the streets across Germany. It developed the 'CrowdNewsroom' method, in which citizens take part in investigations by contributing data — on rents, on bank charges — for analysis. The organization has implemented a cycle in which readers' donations pay the salaries of the people who dig into matters of public concern.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
The benefit appears collectively. In January 2024 CORRECTIV published an investigation into a secret meeting in Potsdam at which far-right politicians and businesspeople had discussed plans for the mass 'remigration' of immigrants; after publication, around a million people protested across Germany. It takes no advertising, runs on donations and grants, publishes free of charge and supplies its stories to other outlets. Around 70 permanent staff are joined by some 500 citizens who help with investigations. Nature of sources: independent (major and international media).
Source nature: The Guardian / Deutsche Welle / T1 major media. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The positive side of this assessment rests on the single story (N1) above and its source. A per-item ledger of positive effects has not yet been compiled for this organization.T1 major media
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Dependence on donations and grants and the safeguarding of independence
- legal challenges to its reporting
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Deepening collaboration with investigative newsrooms across Europe and expanding citizen-participation investigations.
A second look
Because it depends on donations and grants, the mechanisms that keep it independent of its funders are always in question. Subjects of investigation have brought legal challenges, and parts of its reporting have been contested in court. Being non-profit is no guarantee of neutrality, and editorial choices are sometimes received politically.
Sources
+N1The Guardian / Deutsche Welle｜2024｜🔗
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q4 | Back to top