How a verdict is reached

The nine steps

1. 1 Find a public claim

   A claim is checked when it is public, attributable to a named body or person, checkable against evidence, and about quality of life or the environment in Malta. Every side is held to the same standard.

   You can see it: Candidate claims are listed openly, with their status, before any verdict.

2. 2 Record the exact words

   We quote the speaker, not a headline. The original statement is archived so that the record survives later edits. No report starts until the verbatim wording is found.

   You can see it: Each claim page links the original and its archived copy.

3. 3 Split it into checkable parts

   A sentence often carries several claims, such as a number, a comparison and a cause. Each part is tested on its own, and the wording's conditions are kept.

   You can see it: The report lists every part with its own finding.

4. 4 Search the evidence, in order

   Peer-reviewed research comes first, then independent datasets, then regulator and EU reports. News and advocacy material locate claims; they are never the only evidence for a finding.

   You can see it: Every source is listed on the claim page, with an archived copy where one exists.

5. 5 Grade the evidence

   Each source gets a grade from A (controlled experiment) to D (assertion with no data). Where studies disagree, both sides are shown, with why they may differ.

   You can see it: Grades appear beside the sources in each report.

6. 6 Recompute the numbers

   Figures are recalculated by scripts from data saved with its source and retrieval date, not checked by eye.

   You can see it: The data and scripts are in the public repository.

7. 7 Weigh it and give a verdict

   One verdict on a five-point scale, with a confidence level. Misleading and Contradicted need documents or data that can be shown; inference alone is not enough.

   You can see it: The documents behind a strong verdict are listed on the claim page.

8. 8 Offer a right of reply

   When the verdict is Not substantiated, Misleading or Contradicted, the body concerned receives the draft and a deadline, and its response is published alongside the check. Until then the check is labelled a draft. A check that finds a claim supported needs no reply.

   You can see it: Each claim page shows where the reply stands.

9. 9 Publish, then keep it current

   Every check carries a version number and a change log. Errors are corrected openly, and each check records when its evidence was last reviewed.

   You can see it: Anyone can contest a check, with evidence.

Where the evidence comes from

Sources are searched in this order. Higher tiers carry more weight when sources disagree.

1. 1Peer-reviewed literature and systematic reviews.
2. 2Independent datasets (Eurostat, EEA, NSO, WHO, Copernicus, national monitoring networks).
3. 3Regulator and EU reports (for example the Commission's Environmental Implementation Review).
4. 4News reports and advocacy material: used to find leads and quote what was said, never as the only evidence for a finding.

Evidence grades

• AControlled or randomised experiment
• BObservational study with a control or gradient
• CReview, professional guidance or official statistics summary
• DAssertion or anecdote with no data

A source known only through another paper's summary is marked as second-hand and is not presented as having been read.

The verdict scale

From the strongest support to the strongest evidence against. Not substantiated sits in the middle: the claim may be true, but it has not been shown.

1. SupportedEvidence consistently backs the claim as stated.
2. Largely supportedBacked by the evidence, with minor caveats that do not change the substance.
3. Not substantiatedStated more strongly than the evidence offered or available allows. May be true in some conditions but has not been shown.
4. MisleadingOmits material facts so that the overall impression is inaccurate, even if individual statements are defensible.
5. ContradictedThe available evidence points against the claim.

Rules that apply to every verdict

• Misleading and Contradicted require documents or data that can be shown (evidence_shown in the claim record). Inference alone is not enough.
• A verdict applies to the claim as the speaker worded it, not to a headline or paraphrase of it. Where a headline drops a condition, say so.
• A verdict is not a judgement of motive. Nothing here says anyone acted in bad faith unless documents show it.

Confidence

• High: multiple independent lines of evidence agree.
• Moderate: evidence is relevant but incomplete or indirect.
• Low: evidence is thin, second-hand or conflicting.

More detail

• What a check represents, and what it does not
• The full methodology in the repository (verdict scale, evidence grades, standards, pattern tags)
• Corrections policy