Verification practices in public service media as a bulwark against misinformation: Evidence from the BBC and ARD

This paper examines the verification practices and strategies of external fact-checking units within two leading European public service media (PSM) organizations: BBC Reality Check (UK) and ARD’s Faktenfinder (Germany). We analyze their practices through a content analysis of all 2022 verification articles ( n = 198) and qualitative interviews with fact-checkers ( n = 4). As major public broadcasters, both institutions are widely regarded for providing universal, high-quality information. Building on calls to expand the role of PSM in addressing informational disorder, we contribute to fact-checking research by focusing on verification within PSM—an underexplored area. Because truth assessment can challenge conventional notions of impartiality, fact-checking in PSM provides a particularly revealing case. We examine how these units navigate information disorder while upholding core values, especially due impartiality. Whereas the BBC centralizes verification within a single department, ARD adopts a decentralized model reflecting Germany’s federal broadcasting structure. In both cases, strict impartiality standards and persistent attacks by right-wing actors foster cautious formulations of truth assessments. Both units prioritize claims by public figures over online rumors and avoid binary truth labels, instead offering nuanced analyses that emphasize transparency and media literacy. Their work closely follows news cycles and socially salient issues, with topic selection shaped by the absence of partnerships with major technology platforms.