The consolidation of Spanish fact-checking sites: internationalisation, quality indexes, accountability and constraints in daily work

After their first years of public activity, four fact-checking sites have established themselves within the Spanish information ecosystem: Maldita.es, Newtral, Verificat, and EFE Verifica. Each with a distinct business model, their collaborative and complementary work represents the first concerted effort to combat the spread of disinformation in Spain. This research study assesses the internationalisation rates and quality of work of these sites based on the commitments outlined in the International Fact-checking Network Code of Principles. At the same time, in-depth interviews with representatives of these sites provide an overview of the efforts made to implement these standards, linked to various basic ethical aspects: transparency, accountability and public participation. The interviews were conducted after observing the declared methodology on the websites of the four outlets, as well as their daily fact-checking practice. This article represents an approach to the ethics of fact-checking in relation to the IFCN Code, which is the most widely implemented and globally recognised framework within the fact-checking movement. Despite some non-compliance with economic transparency and minor discrepancies in methodology among these Spanish outlets, the study concludes that they satisfactorily adhere to these ethical parameters, and thus their work can be considered of a high standard.