Correctiv under the magnifying glass: Financing reveals a variety of money sources

Von NAG Redaktion

In the Berlin media landscape, the investigative “Correctiv” network ensures conversation after a report on a suspected “secret meeting” of nationwide debates. A detailed look at the financing of "Correctiv" reveals a complex network of foundation funds, private donations and state support.

founded in 2013 with a start-up financing of three million euros from the Brost Foundation, part of the Funke Mediengruppe, "Correctiv" has since opened up a wide range of sources of financing. The Brost Foundation contributed a total of 3.8 million euros by 2018, which secured the initial support of the network.

The international support, especially from the Luminate Foundation of the Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar, is of great importance for "Correctiv". In 2022, the support of Luminate was 636,000 euros, which increases the total allowance to 2.1 million euros. The Open Society Foundation from George Soros has also provided 429,000 euros over a period of five years.

Financing by German tax funds is also an important part of the sources of money from "Correctiv". Since 2015, 1.5 million euros have been provided by the Schöpflin Foundation, while the Mercator Foundation has contributed over 500,000 euros since 2019. In 2022, the grants from German taxpayers amounted to 624,000 euros, including significant contributions from North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal budget.

The collaboration with Facebook as a fact check has raised questions about the financial details that have not been opened. Estimates indicate that "Correctiv" could receive between $ 900 and $ 1,800 per fact check.

Interesting is David Schraven's statement, the managing director of "Correctiv", who explained in 2019 that the income from working with Facebook goes to a commercial subsidiary of the network. This leads to discussions about the possible circumvention of the non -profit nature of "Correctiv".

In view of these revelations, the question of the editorial independence of "Correctiv" arises, especially in the context of its reporting and political orientation.

sources:
* https://correctiv.org/ueber-uns/finance/
* https://www.zeit.de/kultur/2014/correctiv-journalism- Foundation-base
* https://jungfreifheit.de/politik/deutschland/das-kerkwuerdige-schweigen-von-correctiv/