World · data
Where publications are more likely to be reliable, and why
No one can directly measure whether what outlets publish is reliable. What can be measured are four things: the conditions in which the press works, how many countries have organizations submitted to a public verification code, and, in what Revalida has already read, how many articles brought the essential facts without contradicting the document and how much a quick read — just the headline and first paragraphs — suffered for it. The index combines the four. Public trust sits alongside, as context: it says what people feel, not what the newspapers did.
Revalida reliability index, 0 to 100: under 4040 to 4950 to 5960 to 6970 or more
Factor 1 · Conditions for publishing weight 40%
Reporters Without Borders' 2026 World Press Freedom Index: 180 countries, a score of 0 to 100 combining political, economic, legal and socio-cultural context and the safety of journalists. Simple average of the countries in each continent; on the by-country map, the country's own score. Source: RSF, 2026 index, official CSV file.Factor 2 · Adherence to verifiable standards weight 20%
Share of the continent's countries — or, on the by-country map, presence in the country itself — with at least one verified, active signatory organization of the International Fact-Checking Network's Code of Principles, which requires impartiality, transparency of sources, funding and method, and an open corrections policy, assessed by external evaluators. 148 organizations in 71 countries as of 09/19/2026. Source: IFCN, verified signatories. Context: the Journalism Trust Initiative reports 2,600 organizations in 135 countries in its process and 140 certified by audit; the list by country is not published in a machine-readable format, so it is not included in the count. Source: JTI.Factor 3 · Revalida revalidation weight 20%
Share of the articles Revalida has read that brought the essential claims without contradicting the primary document, among the revalidations published on this site. It is only counted where there are at least 10 articles read; below that, its weight is redistributed among the available factors. It is the factor that grows with every piece published. Today: North America 5 of 11; South America 33 of 103; Europe 1 of 9; Asia 1 of 3.Factor 4 · Adequate interpretation weight 20%
Measures how much a quick read — just the headline and first paragraphs — suffers in the articles Revalida has already read: each one receives a criticality level (Low, Moderate, High or Critical; see the scale in the legend), and adequate interpretation is the average, from 0 (Critical) to 100 (Low). Revalidation says whether the article brought the essential facts; this says how much the reader comes away understanding correctly. Same minimum sample as factor 3 (10 articles). Today: North America 81 (n=7); South America 73 (n=102); Europe 52 (n=9); Asia 67 (n=3).Context · Public trust not part of the index
Reuters Institute's 2026 Digital News Report: share of respondents who trust most news most of the time, 48 markets, global average 37%. It measures perception, not the quality of publications, which is why it appears in the table, not in the index. Source: Reuters Institute. Journalists' safety, also context: 330 imprisoned as of 12/1/2025 and 129 killed in 2025, according to the CPJ.How to read this, and what not to read into it
Continents follow the United Nations' M49 classification: Russia in Europe; Turkey, Israel and the Middle East in Asia; Egypt and North Africa in Africa; Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean in North America. A simple average gives each country the same weight. Factor 2 measures the presence of fact-checkers submitted to a public code, not the quality of every outlet. Factors 3 and 4 are the only direct measurements of publications and are still small; they change with every revalidation, and the history is kept on record. The index describes a territory — a continent or a country —, never an outlet.The four factors, side by side
Same scale, 0 to 100. ■ conditions for publishing (RSF) · ■ adherence to standards (IFCN) · ■ Revalida revalidation · ■ adequate interpretation (where there is a minimum sample).
Table
| Continent | Index | Conditions (RSF) | Adherence to standards (IFCN) | Revalida revalidation | Adequate interpretation | Public trust | Weights applied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 71.9 | 72.1 (42 countries) | 71% (30 of 42 countries; 58 org.) | initial sample: 9 articles | initial sample: 9 articles | 36% (24 markets) | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| South America | 56.1 | 54.5 (12 countries) | 67% (8 of 12 countries; 12 org.) | 32% (33 of 103) | 73 | 31% (5 markets) | 40% conditions (RSF) · 20% adherence to standards (IFCN) · 20% revalidation · 20% adequate interpretation |
| Oceania | 52.2 | 70.0 (6 countries) | 17% (1 of 6 countries; 1 org.) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 43% (1 markets) | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| North America | 47.4 | 55.4 (15 countries) | 33% (5 of 15 countries; 17 org.) | 45% (5 of 11) | initial sample: 7 articles | 31% (3 markets) | 50% conditions (RSF) · 25% adherence to standards (IFCN) · 25% revalidation (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: adequate interpretation) |
| Africa | 40.8 | 51.7 (53 countries) | 19% (10 of 53 countries; 13 org.) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 54% (4 markets) | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Asia | 38.7 | 40.1 (51 countries) | 36% (18 of 50 countries; 47 org.) | initial sample: 3 articles | initial sample: 3 articles | 36% (11 markets) | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
Calculation: the continent index and the country index use the same weights — 40% conditions + 20% adherence to standards + 20% revalidation + 20% adequate interpretation; without a minimum sample of 10 articles in factors 3 and 4, their weight is redistributed proportionally among the available factors (the table shows when this happens). Raw data and scripts in data/mapa, scripts/mapa_confianca.py, scripts/criticidade.py and scripts/mapa_pagina.py. Base map: BlankMap-World.svg, Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Updated on September 20, 2026.
Countries in focus: United States and European Union
The same four factors, now by country, for the United States and the European Union countries with data in all three sources (RSF, IFCN and Reuters Institute). The United Kingdom is marked "outside the EU": it is no longer a member of the bloc, but there are revalidated articles about British coverage.
| Country | Index | Conditions (RSF) | Adherence to standards (IFCN) | Revalida revalidation | Adequate interpretation | Public trust | Weights applied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 92.3 | 88.5 | 1 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 55% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Sweden | 91.7 | 87.6 | 1 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 52% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Ireland | 90.6 | 85.9 | 1 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 42% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Portugal | 89.1 | 83.7 | 2 org. (present) | initial sample: 1 article | initial sample: 1 article | 51% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Czechia | 88.7 | 83.0 | 2 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 31% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Germany | 88.1 | 82.2 | 3 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 46% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Belgium | 87.4 | 81.2 | 1 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 39% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| United Kingdom (outside the EU) | 86.3 | 79.5 | 2 org. (present) | initial sample: 4 articles | initial sample: 4 articles | 30% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Austria | 86.3 | 79.4 | 2 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 39% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| France | 84.5 | 76.7 | 3 org. (present) | initial sample: 2 articles | initial sample: 2 articles | 29% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Poland | 83.7 | 75.5 | 3 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 39% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Spain | 83.6 | 75.4 | 5 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 33% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Romania | 78.5 | 67.7 | 1 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 23% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Italy | 76.8 | 65.2 | 3 org. (present) | initial sample: 2 articles | initial sample: 2 articles | 32% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| United States | 75.1 | 62.6 | 12 org. (present) | initial sample: 8 articles | initial sample: 4 articles | 25% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Hungary | 73.2 | 59.9 | 1 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 17% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Greece | 70.0 | 55.0 | 3 org. (present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 18% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Netherlands | 59.3 | 88.9 | 0 org. (not present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 49% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
| Finland | 57.5 | 86.2 | 0 org. (not present) | initial sample: 0 articles | initial sample: 0 articles | 63% | 67% conditions (RSF) · 33% adherence to standards (IFCN) (no minimum sample, weight redistributed: revalidation, adequate interpretation) |
Close-up: Europe, country by country
Same base map, cropped to Europe. Each country is colored by its own index — not by the continent's average. On the world map above, the United States is also colored by its own index, not by North America's average.
Legend: factors, colors and caveats
The four factors and the weight of each
- Factor 1 · Conditions for publishing (weight 40%): conditions in which the press works (RSF)
- Factor 2 · Adherence to verifiable standards (weight 20%): presence of fact-checking organizations under a public code (IFCN)
- Factor 3 · Revalida revalidation (weight 20%): share of the articles read that brought the essential facts without contradicting
- Factor 4 · Adequate interpretation (weight 20%): how much a quick read suffered in the articles read
Index color (sequential blue)
The darker the blue, the higher that territory's reliability index. Scale validated in both light and dark modes with scripts/validate_palette.js (result in docs/METRICAS-CRITICIDADE.md).
under 4040 to 4950 to 5960 to 6970 or more
Criticality scale (per article read)
Each article read receives one of these four levels; the adequate interpretation figure above is their average. Color never appears alone: always with a text label and an icon of its own shape.
- ●Low — the article brought the essential facts without contradicting the document
- ▲Moderate — part of the key claims was missing, without harming the essential facts
- ◆High — the essential facts were missing, or the omission in the headline/lead changes an essential fact
- ✕Critical — the article contradicts the primary document
Caveats
- Minimum sample of 10 articles for factors 3 and 4; below that, "initial sample" and the weight is redistributed to the available factors.
- Simple average: each country (or each article) weighs the same, with no adjustment for population, circulation or audience.
- The index describes a territory — a continent or a country —, never a specific outlet.