Dangers for Fact-based Opinion-forming

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report 2024 identified the topics of “misinformation and disinformation” as the greatest global risk in the next two years. The substantial reach of the United   Internet brands’ editorial offerings means that these are considered to have considerable influence in shaping opinions. The Medienvielfaltsmonitor, which is published by Germany’s state media authorities (Landesmedienanstalten), puts WEB.DE in second place and GMX in third place on the online opinion market, with 3.5% and 3.0% respectively.

See the World Economic Forum .
See the Medienvielfaltsmonitor (in German-only).

This means that the editorial team for United   Internet’s portals has a particular responsibility to ensure informed, well-founded opinion-forming. The team has developed a number of policies to combat the spread of fake news and associated hazards for readers:

Editing Guidelines

  • The rules governing how editorial staff work are made transparent for the public and are published.
    See WEB.DE How the editorial team works (in German only).

  • Specific reader questions are taken up and answered in longer articles in the “How the editorial team works” section.
    See WEB.DE: Mission statement: How the editorial team works (in German only).

User Feedback

  • Regular reader action days are used to identify potential for improvement in reporting.
  • A dedicated Community Management team handles hundreds of user questions a day so as to be able to respond to their feedback immediately.
    See WEB.DE: Feedback (in German only).

Transparency

  • Ownership details, financing, and editorial guidelines are published in a questionnaire from the Journalism Trust Initiative founded by Reporters Without Borders. The answers to this questionnaire are also independently validated by Deloitte and then certified as complying with CEN Workshop Agreement 17493. The certification is renewed every two years.
    See the Journalism Trust Initiative .
    See GMX News (in German only).
    See WEB.DE News (in German only).

The editorial team was awarded the “Nachhaltigkeitspreis Medien Bayern” (“Sustainable Media in Bavaria”) prize at the end of 2023 for its transparent working methods; among other things, the team reveals its sources, corrects errors in a manner that is transparent for readers, and clearly distinguishes between opinion pieces and information.

Concrete Targets

  • Regular recertification of the portals’ news offering in accordance with CEN Workshop Agreement 17493. The next recertification is scheduled for the beginning of 2026.
  • Regular update to the guidelines for the Bavarian Nachhaltigkeitspakt Medien (“Sustainability Pact for the Media”) by the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media. The next update is scheduled for the end of 2025.