OKO.press
Type of site
Fact-checking
Available inPolish
Founded15 June 2016 (2016-06-15)[1]
Country of originPoland
OwnerFundacja Ośrodek Kontroli Obywatelskiej “OKO”[2]
Editor
  • Piotr Pacewicz[3]
  • Bianka Mikołajewska[4]
Key people
  • Agata Szczęśniak
  • Adam Leszczyński
URLOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

OKO.press is a Polish investigative journalism website created on 15 June 2016.[1] The name is a word play on oko, Polish for eye, and an abbreviation for "Ośrodek Kontroli Obywatelskiej" (Centre for Civic Control).

OKO.press is funded by a mix of individual donations and grants, with no revenue from advertising.[5] The site aims to promote democratic values, human rights and transparency of government by publishing fact-finding, research and analysis.[6]

In 2020, the website received the Index on Censorship journalism award.[7]

Creation

OKO.press was founded in June 2016, through the Fundacja Ośrodek Kontroli Obywatelskiej "OKO" editors originating from the Polish media company Agora, as a non-profit investigative journalism website.[2] The founding chief editor was Piotr Pacewicz, former deputy chief editor of Gazeta Wyborcza[2] and the founding deputy chief editor Bianka Mikołajewska, formerly of Gazeta Wyborcza and Polityka.[4] OKO.press journalists initially included journalists from Gazeta Wyborcza, Polityka, TVN, and from the Agora regional news station Tok FM.[2] The website is financed through individual donations and grants. In 2019, its income consisted of 80% individual donations and 20% grants. 93% of the readers are from Poland, the rest are mainly from Germany, Great Britain and the United States.[6]

Editorial line

OKO.press describes its aims as investigative journalism, fact-checking of public debate, and stimulating discussion of important themes in the Internet. It states that it promotes democratic values, human rights and government transparency. OKO.press says that it follows twelve fact-checking principles modelled on the United States project PolitiFact.[2] According to Jarosław Kurski, OKO.press was created in the context of a government that was successively removing checks and balances that protected citizens' rights and state institutions from government oppression, and it was intended to be independent of political parties and independent of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy.[1]

OKO.Press has debunked far-right conspiracy theories on Islam in Europe. Academic historian and OKO.press commentator Adam Leszczyński debunked far-right politician Robert Winnicki's comments on Islamic colonisation in 2016. In 2017, deputy editor Bianka Mikołajewska fact-checked a right-wing commentator Tomasz Łysiak's statements that the national independence march did not have tens of thousands of far-right extremists and fascists marching. On review of photographic evidence, Mikołajewska debunked Łysiak's statement, showing significant prevalence of far-right slogans and symbols such as the Nazi flag, Polish eagle, and celtic cross. These two instances of debunking far-right propaganda on Islam exhibits an association with peace journalism.[8]

In 2019, OKO.press was included in the "Duke University Reporters' Lab" list of Polish fact-checker media, along with Demagog. In 2020, it was ranked as the seventh most authoritative Polish web portal.[9]

International response

OKO.press has an international reputation as an "acclaimed",[3] "well-known investigative journalism outlet".[10]

Lawsuits

Between 2018 and 2020 seven vexatious lawsuits by politicians, companies, and business people have been filed against OKO.press.[11][12] In reaction to the 2 April 2020 publication of the article It is better to avoid the museum. What Minister Gliński did with the memory of the Second World War (Polish: Muzeum lepiej omijać szerokim łukiem. Co Minister Gliński zrobił z pamięcią o II wojnie światowej), a lawsuit was filed against OKO.press. The founder and editor-in-chief of OKO.press, Piotr Pacewicz, described the lawsuit as an attack on the freedom of the press and media.[11]

Any attempts at interfering in media in lawsuits aim at having a chilling effect. This involves more than settling a specific dispute. It sends a message: "Beware, you can't do all that you want". Numerous analyses of populist systems emphasise that control over the media is key for populists. Because populists' governance model is based on the highly selective distribution of truth and circulation of many false or manipulated messages. Independent media, which uncovers such lies and manipulations, are all the more dangerous for populists and their grip on power.

— Piotr Pacewicz, statement to ECPMF, Nov 2020[13]

Awards

In December 2016, the deputy chief editor of OKO.press, Bianka Mikołajewska, was awarded the 2016 Grand Press award for "courage in facing new challenges and journalistic accuracy" and "good, hard journalistic work in sticking to the facts ... rather than repeating their interpretation".[14]

In early 2020, OKO.press was shortlisted for the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards, along with Hong Kong Free Press, SOS Médias Burundi and Venezuelan journalist Marco Ruiz Silvera.[15][16] On 16 April 2020, Index on Censorship named OKO.press as the winner, justifying its choice for OKO.press being "one of the first free investigative journalism and fact-checking websites in Poland", for its journalistic work "[paving] the way for other news sources to follow suit", "fighting for immunity from government propaganda", and being "crucial in an environment sliding further and further into authoritarianism and censorship".[7]

In September 2020, OKO.press received the Equality Crowns media award from Campaign Against Homophobia for "analyzing the events concerning the LGBT community in Poland carefully and with dedication".[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kurski, Jarosław (15 June 2016). "Mamy na was OKO" [We're keeping an EYE [OKO] on you]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ruszył serwis OKO.press patrzący na ręce władzy. W redakcji dziennikarze z "GW", "Polityki", TVN i TOK FM" [OKO.press was launched to watch those in power. The editors include journalists from Gazeta Wyborcza, Polityka, TVN and TOK FM]. wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). 15 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Poland's LGBT community under fire ahead of elections". France 24. 8 October 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2020. ... according to Piotr Pacewicz, editor-in-chief of OKO press, an acclaimed Polish website for investigative journalism and fact-checking
  4. 1 2 Kowalczyk, Mariusz (15 June 2016). "Agora i Polityka wsparły powstanie serwisu Oko.press" [Agora and Polityka supported the creation of the web service Oko.press]. Press (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "OKO.press - About Us". oko.press. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  6. 1 2 Kelly, Tara (10 September 2020). "Reader-funded journalism in a crisis: Lessons from OKO.press". Poynter Institute. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Journalism 2020 – OKO Press is the 2020 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Journalism Fellow". Index on Censorship. 16 April 2020. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  8. ↑ https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203731420-24/19peace-versus-conflict-journalism-poland-anna-piela Peace- versus conflict-journalism in Poland by Anna Piela in The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Journalism
  9. ↑ https://ik.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/europe_vs_disinforamtion.pdf EUROPE VERSUS DISINFORMATION: RESILIENCE BUILDING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES, Open Information Partnership
  10. ↑ Scott, Mark (17 May 2019). "POLITICO Pro Morning Tech, presented by RTL Group: Christchurch call redux — Social media ongoing EU woes — Bruno Le Maire on digital tax". Politico. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2020. Others shared content from outlets like Otopress.pl or Propublico.pl, which mimicked the names of well-known investigative journalism outlets, oko.press and propublica.org.
  11. 1 2 "Poland: OKO.press bears huge financial burden for legal threats against it". European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  12. ↑ ""Still 25 active law cases against Daphne" – MFRR". 30 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "Poland: OKO.press bears huge financial burden for legal threats against it". European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  14. ↑ "Bianka Mikołajewska Dziennikarzem Roku" [Bianka Mikołajewska Journalist of the Year]. Press (in Polish). 13 December 2016. Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "Hong Kong Free Press shortlisted for Index on Censorship's 2020 Freedom of Expression Award". Hong Kong Free Press. 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "2020 awards shortlist: Recognising the journalism that lets all the world's voices be heard". Index on Censorship. 6 April 2020. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  17. ↑ Chrzczonowicz, Magdalena; Szczęśniak, Agata (27 September 2020). "OKO.press z Koroną Równości! Nagrodzono też Wandę Traczyk-Stawską, Agnieszkę Dziemianowicz-Bąk, Atlas Nienawiści". oko.press. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
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