What is true, what is false?
Since 2019, the German Press Agency (dpa) has had its own fact-checking team. We talked to the team’s head, Teresa Dapp, about its work.
Interview: Anja Leuschner,
10.06.2026 
Ms Dapp, why is it important to check facts and why does dpa have a dedicated team for this?
False allegations spread quickly - via social media and messenger apps, though also as a result of AI summaries. Fact-checking involves classifying claims according to whether they can be verified or not: what is true, what is false, what has been taken out of context? dpa has its own team for this purpose because the work requires specialist knowledge in digital research, image and video verification. These days, fact checks are products in their own right.
dpa
The German Press Agency (dpa) was founded in 1949 and is one of the world’s leading independent news agencies. It employs around 1,000 journalists at some 140 offices worldwide.
Are journalistic rules more important than ever nowadays?
Verification and transparency are the core element of journalistic credibility. Precisely because anyone can easily publish content on social media these days, professional editorial teams have to work as transparently as possible. As far as dpa is concerned, accuracy is more important than speed. We document our research, providing links to and archiving our sources. As with everything we do at dpa, fact checking is also subject to the principle of at least dual control.
What sets German fact-checking apart internationally?
In Germany there are several independent and certified fact-checking organisations that work in accordance with international standards but also have their own style.
Which international partners do you work with?
Our partners in networks and projects can be other fact-checking teams, or indeed media literacy initiatives or scientific institutions. For example, we are actively involved in the German-Austrian Digital Media Observatory (GADMO) with the fact checkers from AFP, APA and Correctiv. We have expanded the Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN) with our partners from Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria and Bulgaria.
What poses the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenges are the speed, volumes and professionalisation of disinformation – especially resulting from AI-generated images, videos and voices. Though AI tools can help us reveal the disinformation, they are no substitute for journalistic judgement because they generally lack the necessary transparency and reliability.
dpa fact checking
Fact checking at dpa is done by an international team of around 25 people. It has published more than 10,000 fact checks in three languages since 2019. First and foremost, it examines potentially false allegations that are disseminated via social media such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or X.
