What Les Surligneurs does

Les Surligneurs is an independent French nonprofit media organization, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Paris, that publishes political fact-checking, legal-checking, investigations, analyses, podcasts, quizzes, and a weekly newsletter. Its distinctive editorial proposition is the pairing of professional journalists with academic legal re-readers to assess whether political and public claims are both factually accurate and legally sound, with verdicts such as 'Faux', 'Pas en droit', and 'Ça dépend' assigned to each piece. The platform is built on a custom WordPress theme (MMDWC) serving French-language content, with a public-facing submission tool called 'La Trousse des Surligneurs' integrated with Pluralisme.fr for citation searches and a dedicated Belgian subdomain for cross-border francophone reach. Public-facing distribution spans seven social platforms (X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Bluesky) plus in-person events at venues such as Kawaa Daumesnil and theatre du Lucernaire.

The organization operates a freemium, community-led model: top-of-funnel Analyses, Fact-checking, Enquêtes, podcasts, the quiz, and news are free, while Legal-checking content is gated behind a paid 'adhérent' (member) tier accessible via the 'Adhérer ou Donner' (join or donate) page. It holds formal affiliation with the IFCN (Poynter Institute) and EFCSN, lending third-party-validated fact-checking credibility. Strategic institutional engagements include the 'Droit à l'Info' early-warning system with QuotaClimat ahead of the 2027 French presidential election, a disinformation-response collaboration with Cnaf (Caisse nationale des allocations familiales), and an information-reliability partnership with Wikimédia France. Headcount is in the 11–50 range, no revenue, headcount trends, or funding rounds are publicly disclosed, and the entity is structured as a nonprofit association rather than a venture-backed company.

Name

Les Surligneurs

Legal name

Les Surligneurs

Website

https://lessurligneurs.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Les Surligneurs is an independent French nonprofit media organization, founded in 2017 in Paris, that publishes political fact-checking, legal-checking, investigations, podcasts, and a weekly newsletter for the French-speaking public, with gated Legal-checking content reserved for paying members and a Belgian-market subdomain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership / Adhesion fees: The organization generates revenue through member subscriptions (adhésion). A dedicated 'Adhérer ou Donner' (become a member or donate) page exists on the website, offering paid membership tiers. Legal-checking content is reserved exclusively for paying members, providing a tiered access model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Les Surligneurs is an independent French media organization that combats political disinformation through fact-checking, legal-checking, and investigative journalism. It publishes articles, podcasts, quizzes, and analyses on its website (lessurligneurs.eu), where citizens can submit claims for verification. Premium legal-checking content is reserved for paying members (adhérents) who support the organization through subscriptions or donations.

Product overview

Les Surligneurs is an independent French media platform dedicated to combating political disinformation. The core platform offers a suite of interconnected content services organized around fact-checking (Fact-checking), legal verification (Legal-checking), investigative journalism (Enquêtes), and in-depth analysis (Analyses). These are complemented by engagement products including Podcasts, Quiz, and a weekly Newsletter. The platform also provides a citizen submission tool called 'La Trousse des Surligneurs' for proposing claims to verify, and has launched collaborative initiatives like 'Droit à l'Info' with QuotaClimat for election-related disinformation detection. Legal-checking content is reserved for members (adhérents). The overall architecture is a unified media platform with content modules serving different audience engagement functions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Legal-checking A legal verification service that analyzes whether political claims align with current French and European law, providing verdicts on their legal validity. Reserved for paying members (adhérents), combining professional journalists with academic jurists (relecteurs) for academic rigor.
• Fact-checking Verification service that checks the accuracy of public statements, political claims, and circulating information, providing verdicts on their truthfulness. Aimed at the general public and media professionals seeking reliable fact-checking citations.
• Analyses In-depth analytical articles examining complex political, legal, and societal issues, providing detailed context and expert analysis.
• Enquêtes (Investigations) Investigative journalism articles that explore and expose disinformation campaigns, foreign interference, and misinformation networks.
• Podcasts Audio content covering topics related to political disinformation, media literacy, and analysis of misinformation, available through the website's podcast section.
• Quiz Interactive quizzes testing users' knowledge of political facts, legal concepts, and current affairs to promote media literacy.
• Newsletter Weekly email newsletter delivering the latest fact-checks, analyses, and investigations directly to subscribers, supporting membership conversions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Partnership with QuotaClimat for 2027 presidential election disinformation early warning system
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Wikimédia FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Surligneurs partnered with Wikimédia France to support the organization's commitment to information reliability and verifiability. This collaboration follows the natural extension of Les Surligneurs' mission to combat political disinformation, with Wikimédia France benefiting from Les Surligneurs' rigorous fact-checking methodology.
• QuotaClimatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Surligneurs partnered with the association QuotaClimat to launch 'Droit à l'Info' — an early warning system for political disinformation ahead of the 2027 French presidential election. The initiative aims to detect and counter election-related misinformation early, combining Les Surligneurs' fact-checking expertise with QuotaClimat's climate-focused monitoring.
• Cnaf (Caisse nationale des allocations familiales)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Surligneurs entered into a collaboration with the Cnaf (Caisse nationale des allocations familiales) to strengthen its counter-disinformation efforts. The partnership involves accompanying the national family allowances fund in building its capacity to identify and respond to false claims related to social policies and family benefits.
• EFCSN (European Fact-Checking Standards Network)coreOthersLes Surligneurs is a member of the EFCSN (European Fact-Checking Standards Network), displaying the network's logo on their website alongside the IFCN (International Fact-Checking Network) logo. Membership indicates adherence to European fact-checking standards and codes of ethics.
• IFCN (International Fact-Checking Network) / Poynter InstitutecoreOthersLes Surligneurs displays the IFCN (International Fact-Checking Network) logo, administered by the Poynter Institute, on its website. This indicates formal certification/adherence to international fact-checking standards and ethical codes.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Snopes: Long-established internet fact-checking brand. Overlaps in structured verdicts and citizen-engagement myth-busting methodology, though broader in topic coverage than political-only.
• FactCheck.org: US-based non-partisan fact-checking project. Directly comparable IFCN-certified methodology though operating at a much larger scale and predominantly US political focus.
• PolitiFact: Pulitzer Prize-winning US political fact-checker owned by Poynter. Directly comparable structured-verdict methodology and IFCN affiliation, though at much larger scale and US-centric.

Direct peers

• Correctiv: German non-profit investigative newsroom; IFCN-certified and EFCSN-affiliated, sharing Les Surligneurs' non-profit, donation-funded model and European counter-disinformation focus.
• Pagella Politica: Italian fact-checking project; IFCN/EFCSN-certified. Closest peer for the legal-checking concept applied to political claims, with overlapping Italian/French/European institutional audience.
• AFP Factuel: The fact-checking division of Agence France-Presse; the dominant IFNC-certified French-language fact-checker. Directly comparable certification, geographic focus, and core fact-check offering.
• Full Fact: UK-based fact-checking charity; IFCN-certified and EFCSN-affiliated. Closest large-scale European peer in methodology, membership of fact-checker networks, and AI-augmented verification ambitions.
• Maldita.es: Spanish non-profit fact-checking and civic-tech outlet; IFCN/EFCSN-certified. Comparable member-supported model, multiple content formats, and European counter-disinformation positioning.
• EU DisinfoLab: European non-profit research initiative focused on tackling sophisticated disinformation campaigns. Comparable in investigative scope, EU policy relevance, and partnership-driven operating model.
• Les Décodeurs (Le Monde): Le Monde's dedicated fact-checking team. Same French market, same IFCN-aligned editorial mission, with substantially larger institutional backing from one of France's leading newspapers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lessurligneurs
• Facebookfacebook.com/lessurligneurs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lessurligneurs
• Instagraminstagram.com/lessurligneurs/?hl=fr
• TikToktiktok.com/@lessurligneurs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Les Surligneurs