What Polígrafo does

Polígrafo is Portugal's first dedicated fact-checking newspaper, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Lisbon. The organization publishes structured veracity assessments of public claims across politics, society, economy, international affairs, health, and sports, using a proprietary six-point meter rating system (True, False, True-but, Imprecise, Decontextualized, Pepper). It operates a WordPress-based digital platform hosted within the Sapo.pt (Portugal Telecom) ecosystem at poligrafo.sapo.pt, and maintains active social media distribution across Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Polígrafo is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) Code of Principles, a member of the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) and the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), and a third-party fact-checking partner for Meta/Facebook.

The business model is a free, ad- and sponsorship-supported digital publication with no paywall. Revenue is generated through website advertising, branded sponsorships (notably Betclic as the exclusive partner of Polígrafo Futebol), and institutional grants including European Parliament communication grants (EP-COMM-SUBV-2025-MEDIA for the EU[ro Facts] project) and co-development funding from foundations including the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Champalimaud Foundation. The company has expanded its product surface into specialized verticals: Polígrafo Futebol (football fact-checking), Euro Facts (EU coverage), Vital – O Portal do Cancro (cancer information), and Pinóquio na Escola (media literacy competition). Distribution is multi-channel, with editorial partnerships across Portugal's three major television broadcasters (SIC, RTP, TVI) and TSF radio, enabling real-time fact-checking during electoral debates. The platform was the most viral Portuguese media outlet on Twitter/X during the 2024 legislative election period, accumulating 15,407 interactions — more than double the second-ranked entity.

Name

Polígrafo

Legal name

Polígrafo

Website

https://poligrafo.sapo.pt

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Polígrafo is Portugal's first dedicated fact-checking newspaper, founded in 2018 in Lisbon. It verifies public claims across politics, society, economy, health, and sports using a six-point meter rating system, distributing content via its website, major Portuguese broadcasters, and social media to the general Portuguese public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

News and Fact-Checking Journalism

NAICS

Information (51), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA)

Keywords

• Fact-checking journalism
• Misinformation verification
• Digital news media
• Media literacy programs
• Election debate coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

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. Advertising and Sponsorship: Polígrafo generates revenue through advertising on its website and through branded content and sponsorship arrangements. The partnership with Betclic for the Polígrafo Futebol section represents a commercial sponsorship arrangement, where Betclic is the exclusive partner of the football fact-checking vertical.
2. EU Project Funding: Polígrafo receives co-funding from the European Parliament under its communication grants programme (EP-COMM-SUBV-2025-MEDIA), including for the EU[ro Facts] project on European Union coverage.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Polígrafo is Portugal's first dedicated fact-checking newspaper, verifying claims made by politicians, public figures, and social media users across politics, society, economy, health, sports, and international affairs. The platform operates a free digital publication with a proprietary six-point visual meter rating system and extends to specialized verticals covering football, EU affairs, and cancer information, plus broadcast TV and radio programs.

Product overview

Polígrafo is Portugal's first fact-checking newspaper offering a unified platform of journalism products across multiple channels. The core offering is the main Polígrafo fact-checking site covering Politics, Society, Economy, International, Health, and more. The portfolio includes specialized verticals: Polígrafo Futebol (football fact-checking), Euro Facts (EU coverage), and Vital - O Portal do Cancro (cancer information with Fundação Champalimaud). Educational initiatives include Pinóquio na Escola media literacy competition. Broadcast extensions include Polígrafo TVI (TV show) and Vamos aos Factos (radio program with TSF).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Polígrafo Futebol: A pioneering football fact-checking project covering national and international football with daily updates on clubs, players, transfers, controversies and sports trends through June 2026.
• Vital - O Portal do Cancro
• Pinocchio na Escola (Pinóquio na Escola)

Products and services

• Polígrafo Fact-Checking Newspaper Portugal's first dedicated fact-checking newspaper that systematically verifies claims made by politicians, public figures, and on social media across categories including Politics, Society, Economy, International, Sports, Health, and Cinema. Uses a proprietary six-point visual meter rating system to classify veracity.
• Polígrafo Futebol Specialized football fact-checking vertical that verifies claims about clubs, players, transfers, and football-related controversies in Portuguese and international football. Includes daily updates, a dedicated newsletter, and podcast, operated through June 2026 with Betclic as exclusive partner.
• Vital - O Portal do Cancro Cancer information portal providing verified health information and cancer-related fact-checks to the Portuguese public, developed in partnership with Fundação Champalimaud and Viral Check to combat cancer misinformation.
• Pinóquio na Escola National media literacy competition for students developed in partnership with the Gulbenkian Foundation, engaging hundreds of students across Portugal in developing anti-disinformation work and editorial skills.
• Polígrafo TVI Television show broadcast on TVI featuring fact-checking of political and social claims, with an episode archive available on TVI Player, extending Polígrafo's reach from digital to broadcast television audiences.
• Vamos aos Factos Weekly radio programme co-produced with TSF (Rádio Comercial) that features fact-checking of current events and political claims, bringing Polígrafo's editorial work to radio audiences.
• Euro Facts EU-themed fact-checking section covering European Union policies, legislation, and international affairs, supported by European Parliament communication grant funding.

Quantifiable outcome

• Polígrafo was the most viral Portuguese media outlet on Twitter/X during the 2024 legislative election period, with more than double the interactions of the second-ranked entity.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• BetclicmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBetclic is the exclusive partner of the Polígrafo Futebol vertical, a pioneering football fact-checking project covering Portuguese and international football. The partnership provides Betclic with brand association with rigorous journalism and helps Polígrafo fund a dedicated sports fact-checking operation with daily updates, a newsletter, and a podcast through June 2026.
• Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Gulbenkian Foundation)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolígrafo and the Gulbenkian Foundation co-developed 'Pinóquio na Escola' (Pinocchio in School), a national media literacy competition for students. The project engages hundreds of students across Portugal in developing anti-disinformation work, combining Polígrafo's editorial expertise with the Foundation's educational mission.
• Fundação Champalimaud (Champalimaud Foundation)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Champalimaud Foundation partnered with Polígrafo and Viral Check to launch 'Vital – O Portal do Cancro' (Vital — The Cancer Portal), a specialized health information portal focused on debunking cancer misinformation and providing reliable health information to the public.
• Viral CheckmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerViral Check co-developed 'Vital – O Portal do Cancro' with Polígrafo and the Champalimaud Foundation, focusing on cancer-related misinformation verification and public health communication.
• Sapo.pt (Portugal Telecom)coreOthersPolígrafo operates within the Sapo.pt ecosystem, using poligrafo.sapo.pt as its primary domain and hosting video content on videos.sapo.pt. Sapo.pt provides the digital infrastructure and distribution platform, making Polígrafo's content accessible within one of Portugal's largest web portals.
• European Parliament (EU[ro Facts] project)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPolígrafo is co-funded by the European Parliament under its communication grants programme (EP-COMM-SUBV-2025-MEDIA) for the EU[ro Facts] project, which covers European Union affairs. The funding supports editorial coverage of EU topics but the Parliament is not involved in editorial decisions.
• SIC — Sociedade Independent de ComunicaçãomajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSIC airs Polígrafo's fact-checking segments during election coverage, including the 'Polígrafo SIC – Especial Eleições' TV segment. The partnership extends Polígrafo's reach from digital-only to broadcast television audiences.
• RTP — Rádio e Televisão de PortugalmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerRTP carries Polígrafo's real-time fact-checking during presidential and legislative election debates on RTP1 and RTP3, distributing Polígrafo content to national broadcast audiences.
• TVI — Televisão IndependentemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerTVI distributes Polígrafo content on TVI Player and carries the publication's television segments, including coverage of the Polígrafo TVI programme featuring election debates and fact-checking round-ups.
• TSF — Rádio ComercialminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTSF co-produces the weekly radio programme 'Vamos aos Factos' with Polígrafo, bringing fact-checking to radio audiences and extending Polígrafo's brand into the audio format.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Newtral: Spanish fact-checking platform with TV production, audio content and a media literacy education program. Comparable in its multimedia distribution (broadcast, podcast, classroom), multilingual ambition and brand-sponsored vertical strategy.
• Chequeado: Argentine/Latin American fact-checking pioneer, IFCN signatory and election-focused verification platform. Comparable as a Spanish-language, election-cycle-driven fact-checker with an educational arm.
• Maldita.es: Spain's leading independent fact-checking organization, operating across digital, broadcast and educational channels. Highly comparable as an Iberian neighbor pursuing the same IFCN-certified, broadcaster-integrated model that Polígrafo uses in Portugal.
• Full Fact: UK-based independent fact-checking charity using AI tools to monitor claims across media. Comparable as an IFCN-certified fact-checker investing in automation (FactCRICIS-style) and policy-level influence, though operating at much larger scale.
• Aos Fatos: Brazilian fact-checking newsroom and IFCN signatory with a proprietary classification meter ('Fato ou Fake') and active media-literacy program. Closely comparable in language adjacency (Portuguese), methodology and editorial product.

Broad incumbents

• PolitiFact: Pulitzer-winning US political fact-checking platform using a Truth-O-Meter rating system. Directly comparable to Polígrafo's proprietary meter rating system (True/False/True-but/Imprecise/Decontextualized/Pepper).
• Snopes: Veteran US-based fact-checking site covering politics, health and viral claims at scale. Comparable as an IFCN-certified digital fact-checking brand, though operating in English and without Polígrafo's broadcast integrations.
• AFP Fact Check: Global news agency fact-checking vertical operating in multiple languages including Portuguese. Comparable as a Meta third-party fact-checking partner with multilingual reach and institutional scale beyond Polígrafo's domestic footprint.
• FactCheck.org: US non-partisan fact-checking site affiliated with the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Comparable as an institutional, IFCN-aligned fact-checker focused on political claims and viral misinformation.

Regional players

• Pagella Politica: Italian fact-checking project focused on political statements, IFCN signatory. Comparable as a European single-country fact-checker with election-cycle focus, though lacking Polígrafo's broadcaster partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jornalpoligrafo
• YouTubevideos.sapo.pt/poligrafo
• Facebookfacebook.com/jornalpoligrafo
• Instagraminstagram.com/jornalpoligrafo
• TikToktiktok.com/@jornalpoligrafo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jornal-poligrafo

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Polígrafo