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Updated June 2022
THIS ARTICLE SHOULD tell you everything you need to know about what FactCheck is, how it works, and how you can take an active part in it.
We check factual claims made by public figures or entities about newsworthy and topical issues. We also check or debunk memes, hoaxes, rumours and viral content which may not have a single, specific, high-profile author.
While our work is informed by topical issues of the day, we do our best to factcheck a wide range of issues and examine the claims of a wide range of individuals and organisations. This is to try and ensure fairness and an even distribution in our fact checks, and avoid concentrating too much on one person or group.
Our efforts on this will inevitably be imperfect, so if you ever feel this is the case, please let us know.
We watch and listen to a lot of Irish TV and radio, read the news, tune in to Dáil and Seanad debates, and keep an eye on what politicians, public figures and activist and non-profit groups say on social media. We also look at Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media platforms for claims.
Readers can submit suggestions for claims by sending the details to factcheck@thejournal.ie, tweet @TJ_FactCheck, or send us a direct message on Twitter. You can also forward claims to us on WhatsApp on 083 876 0971.
When deciding on which claims to prioritise, we can’t get to every single one so we focus on ones that have the most potential to cause harm or have a negative impact in people’s lives, as well as claims which are being shared widely.
The growth of misinformation in Ireland during the coronavirus pandemic led to an expansion of the number and type of factchecks we do. These are the different types of factchecks that you’ll see on the site:
An article that has FactCheck in the headline will focus on a claim made by a public person or entity, and will often, but not always, contain a verdict on the accuracy of the claim, in line with the principles of the International Fact-Checking Network. In the absence of a verdict, there will be a narrative verdict which will outline the truth of the situation.
A FactFind will compile relevant information about a topic or claim and present it to readers in order for you to make up your own mind. Some examples of FactFinds are Were self-harm and suicide statistics measured during the pandemic? and How could a border poll happen?
A Debunked will usually examine a false rumour or social media claim which may not have a single, specific author. Some examples of Debunkeds are No, People Before Profit has not organised a pro-lockdown rally and No, there wasn’t a media blackout on Simon Coveney’s official visit to Turkey
Anyone. This is a departure from our original guidelines, which limited FactCheck requests to members of the public.
As of now, though, we will check claims submitted by politicians, their staff, political parties, non-profit groups and unions – essentially, the types of people and organisations who are normally the ones being factchecked.
However, if you fall into this category, we will only accept your suggestion on the understanding that the article will mention the source of the request.
So if, for example, Political Party A’s press office asks us to fact-check a claim by Political Party B, we’ll only do it if Political Party A agrees to be named in the article.
For general readers, we certainly ask if we can mention your name and (roughly) where you live, but you don’t have to provide this information.
We then evaluate the evidence they give us, but also research the issue independently.
If we come across a statistic in a speech, press release, meme or video, we look for the raw data that led to that statistic.
Very occasionally, we will use evidence that is not publicly available, but we will explain why.
You don’t have to. Our aim is to give you the information that you need to make your own mind up. A lot of the time things aren’t black and white. We want to get good information out there to cut through the noise.
When it comes to FactChecks which require a verdict, our view is that a verdict should be read along with the evidence available, and the (often quite nuanced) rationale behind it.
But we understand that many see the verdict as the most essential part of each fact check, so it’s only fair that we explain what they mean.
TRUE: The claim is accurate, and is not missing any significant details or context.
MOSTLY TRUE: The claim is close to accurate, but is missing significant details or context. Or, the best available evidence weighs in favour of the claim.
MIXTURE: There are elements of truth in the claim, but also elements of falsehood. Or, the best available evidence is evenly weighted in support of, and against, the claim.
MOSTLY FALSE: There is an element of truth in the claim, but it is missing critical details or context. Or, the best available evidence weighs against the claim.
FALSE: The claim is inaccurate
MISLEADING: The claim either intentionally or unintentionally misleads readers
NONSENSE: The claim is wildly inaccurate, logically impossible, and/or ridiculous.
UNPROVEN: The evidence available is insufficient to support or refute the claim, but it is logically possible.
Occasionally, we will get things wrong. When that happens, we’ll say so.
If any significant information has been added to an article, that update will be briefly described at the bottom of the article. If there was a factual error, the error will be fixed and the correction will be briefly described at the bottom of the article.
If we change a verdict (either due to the discovery of an error or new information), we will explain that change in the article.
In addition, any updates, corrections or verdict changes will be tracked on our Updates and Corrections page.
The Journal is owned by brothers Eamonn and Brian Fallon, who set up property listings website Daft.ie in 1997. In July 2015, their Distilled Media group merged with the Oslo-listed Schibsted Media Group to form Distilled SCH. However, The Journal and its sister publications The42 and Noteworthy remained separate and solely owned by the Fallon brothers as the independent Journal Media Ltd.
FactCheck is a project run out of The Journal newsroom and largely funded from the central newsroom budget. Read more about The Journal FactCheck unit here
We also factcheck content on Facebook as part of its Third-Party Fact-Checking Programme. You can read about how that works here.
All newsteam members with The Journal are required to declare to the editor any political affiliations or allegiances, business interests or other external activities which could affect their journalistic endeavours, including and especially the impartiality necessary for carrying out a The Journal FactCheck.
This requirement is enshrined in our newsroom handbook and overseen by the editor.
FactCheck at The Journal is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles, which you can read in full, here.
The most direct thing you can do is contribute to The Journal so we can keep factchecking, explaining and informing. Factchecking is some of the most expensive and resource-heavy work we do in the newsroom so every contribution helps.
Aside from that, let us know if you have a claim you want factchecked, and share our work on social media and in your groups if you can.
Send your FactCheck requests to factcheck@thejournal.ie.
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Why is the helpline number an 0818 number instead of 1800. Why should they profit from their mistake.
Why are they storing credit card details for 2 years?
Aren’t they supposed to be deleted after the transaction has been completed?
And they slipped in the bit where they were storing them unencrypted.
They are going on about ‘cypercrime’ and ‘cypercriminals’ now like there are evil geniuses behind this, that its some form of high tech crime that is really difficult to counter or to explain to ordinary mortals.
Sorry, but if you are storing cc details unencrypted for years then your whole approach to security is questionable and this is just as likely to be as low tech as a data entry employee copying a database to a memory key.
Ring the helpline number and leave your credit card details…..
And remember, the security breaches were in 2011 and 2012, so it’s imperative that you ring your bank urgently, before it’s too late like.
Or perhaps you just read the article. You know, the bit where it says the transactions were 2011 and 2012 rather than that’s when the breach occurred.
This wouldn’t have happened on Superquinns watch.
This is why I max my credit card out, so emm it can’t be stolen from
Cash will always be King.
Until the issuers says its not.
If the details have ben compromised why did not Supervalu come out straight and say – change your card ?.
So it happened between 2011 and 2012 ?? Well if ye haven’t noticed money gone missing from then til now then ye have too much in any way .
The details were collected and stored in a database between 2011 and 2012, but the data was accesses and stolen last week.
Thanks for clearing that up for me Andy .
I don’t think that’s correct Andy. I think they only discovered it last week, but the thefts date back two years. Basing that on the news this morning where customers were told to check for anomalies on their cc accounts over the last two years.
I am making a leap here, but based on that, and on the fact that people who only used their card on this system this year are being contacted, this looks like it was an ongoing theft of details over a long period, rather than a single event. The discovery was the single event, not the theft.
I shop the old fashion way I buy my fruit and veg in moore st and meet all the great people there,then I go to the local shops for everthing else no credit card needed.
Good for you. Do they sell getaway breaks there ? No.
I use my credit card to buy the train fare all the way to Moore St, then I buy all my fruit and veg with cash when I don’t meet pickpockets on the way.
Credit cards are very safe, just use charge backs when you notice a transaction you didn’t do and you will get you money back.
Getaway breaks to where?? Some crappy hotel in a place you’d rather not be in
Perhaps Moore St. has changed. Back in the day, ( 70′s/ 80′s ) they would display fresh produce and then, when you placed your order, would use slight of hand and other techniques, to distract you from seeing that they were giving you half rotten produce hidden under the stall. They did themselves no favours with these cons and sacrificed their reputation for short term gains. Hopefully, that’s changed. To be fair to the traders, the low down in the pecking order fishmongers, who were consigned to ply their wares from atop an old fashioned pram, were in fact the most trustworthy. I could get the poor relation of Plaice or Sole, the lazily named Dab, for three to the pound. As a regular customer, the quantity per pound rose to six and then nine. However, there was another price to pay. My threescore and something polyester headscarfed fishmonger took a certain shine to me. She explained to me that the protestations of the other fishmongers against giving me such good value, was borne of jealousy. At this stage, I began to worry. Being unemployed in the early eighties meant that you had to cut corners, but I had to draw the line at getting involved in a fishmongers turf war. I’m sure that she’s long gone by now, but I have fond memories of her and the cheeky glint in her eye.
Moore st. is a great place I also get my cigs and booze there for a good price. If moore st goes that’s the end of Dublin in the rare auld times.
If getting knock counterfeit fags to cheat the state of taxes (so that the rest of us have to pay even more taxes) is typical of Dublin in the rare oul times, then I for one will not miss it if it goes
I like the shop super value but I must not use any of my credit card no more The peoples in the shops are very nice to me and my children
Cash cash cash always use cash Lorna, then the big bad peoples can’t steal your card details.
So what are supervalu going to do for their customers
Surely they should offer some compensation for the hassle caused,
Free superquinn sausages for everyone in the audience.
Should it not be loyalty build that should be compensating people as it was them that was hacked and not supervalu, loyalty build should be explaining this to people and putting the blame on another company, supervalu pay them to do a job and they should have done it properly
Could check my card please
4317 8436 2381 6681
Ccv 332
Expiry 02 14
Cranky rider
Mothers maiden name is miss crankyrider
Why did I get a letter in post in regard and the dates stated are between 2011 and 2012 I only booked mid 2013
confused about all this
Siobhan it was initially dates in 2013 that was effected, today it came to light that dates further back were also effected, I got an email today :-(
I recently had to cancel a debit card because over the space of a week or two about 10 itunes purchases appeared on it which I certainly didn’t buy, had used this card numerous times for Supervalu getaway breaks. Starting to wonder…
Didn’t this news break last week?
What’s it like to have never flown Ryanair?
Can nobody figure out a way to bring Enda and Eamon into this.
Why do people not read the article. It’s nothing to with where you shop. It’s if you booked a getaway break through Loyaltybuild.
Do you have your value card? (for who?)
Is there a time frame here ??
Yes, read the article
Shop MACE its SAFER.
Who is going to pay for the charge of canceling your cards I’d like to know.
My bank waived the fee on reissuing my card!
Ur information on ur supervalu card is fine, it was not hacked. When u booked a break away, the company used to book it is called loyalty build and they are the company that you would have given ur credit card details to while booking. This is the company that was hacked, they need to reimburse people
have your say