OKO.press

OKO.press is a Polish investigative journalism website created on 15 June 2016.[1] The name is a word play of a word “oko”, Polish for: an eye, and an abbreviation for “Ośrodek Kontroli Obywatelskiej” (Centre for Civic Control).

OKO.press
Type of site
Fact-checking
Available inPolish
FoundedJune 15, 2016 (2016-06-15)[1]
Country of originPoland
OwnerFundacja Ośrodek Kontroli Obywatelskiej “OKO”[2]
Editor
  • Piotr Pacewicz[3]
  • Bianka Mikołajewska[4]
Key people
  • Agata Szczęśniak
  • Adam Leszczyński
URLOfficial website

In 2020, the website received the Index on Censorship journalism award.[5]

Creation

OKO.press was created in June 2016, through the Fundację Ośrodek Kontroli Obywatelskiej “OKO” editors originating from the Polish media company Agora, as an investigative journalism website. The founding chief editor was Piotr Pacewicz, former deputy chief editor of Gazeta Wyborcza[2] and the founding deputy chief editor Bianka Mikołajewska, formerly of Gazeta Wyborcza and Polityka.[4] OKO.press journalists initially included journalists from Gazeta Wyborcza, Polityka, TVN, and from the Agora regional news station Tok FM.[2]

Editorial line

OKO.press describes its aims as investigative journalism, fact-checking of public debate and stimulating discussion of important themes in the Internet. It claims to follow twelve fact-checking principles modelled on the United States project PolitiFact.[2] According to Jarosław Kurski, OKO.press was created in the context of a government that was successively removing checks and balances that protected citizens' rights and state institutions from government oppression, and it was intended to be independent of political parties and independent of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy.[1]

International response

In 2019, OKO.press had an international reputation as an "acclaimed",[3] "well-known investigative journalism outlet".[6]

Awards

In December 2016, the deputy chief editor of OKO.press, Bianka Mikołajewska, was awarded the 2016 Grand Press award for "courage in facing new challenges and journalistic accuracy" and "good, hard journalistic work in sticking to the facts ... rather than repeating their interpretation".[7]

In early 2020, OKO.press was shortlisted for the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards, along with Hong Kong Free Press, SOS Médias Burundi and Venezuelan journalist Marco Ruiz Silvera.[8][9] On 16 April 2020, Index on Censorship named OKO.press as the winner, justifying its choice for OKO.press being "one of the first free investigative journalism and fact-checking websites in Poland", for its journalistic work "[paving] the way for other news sources to follow suit", "fighting for immunity from government propaganda", and being « crucial in an environment sliding further and further into authoritarianism and censorship".[5]

References
  1. Kurski, Jarosław (2016-06-15). "Mamy na was OKO" [We're keeping an EYE [OKO] on you]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  2. "Ruszył serwis OKO.press patrzący na ręce władzy. W redakcji dziennikarze z "GW", "Polityki", TVN i TOK FM" [OKO.press was launched to watch those in power. The editors include journalists from Gazeta Wyborcza, Polityka, TVN and TOK FM]. wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). 2016-06-15. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16.
  3. "Poland's LGBT community under fire ahead of elections". France 24. 2019-10-08. Archived from the original on 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2020-03-07. ... according to Piotr Pacewicz, editor-in-chief of OKO press, an acclaimed Polish website for investigative journalism and fact-checking
  4. Kowalczyk, Mariusz (2016-06-15). "Agora i Polityka wsparły powstanie serwisu Oko.press" [Agora and Polityka supported the creation of the web service Oko.press]. Press (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2016-06-16.
  5. "Journalism 2020 – OKO Press is the 2020 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Journalism Fellow". Index on Censorship. 2020-04-16. Archived from the original on 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  6. Scott, Mark (2019-05-17). "POLITICO Pro Morning Tech, presented by RTL Group: Christchurch call redux — Social media ongoing EU woes — Bruno Le Maire on digital tax". Politico. Archived from the original on 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2020-03-07. Others shared content from outlets like Otopress.pl or Propublico.pl, which mimicked the names of well-known investigative journalism outlets, oko.press and propublica.org.
  7. "Bianka Mikołajewska Dziennikarzem Roku" [Bianka Mikołajewska Journalist of the Year]. Press (in Polish). 2016-12-13. Archived from the original on 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  8. "Hong Kong Free Press shortlisted for Index on Censorship's 2020 Freedom of Expression Award". Hong Kong Free Press. 2020-02-25. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  9. "2020 awards shortlist: Recognising the journalism that lets all the world's voices be heard". Index on Censorship. 2020-04-06. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
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