A Foundation of Transparency and Independence
At Rumour Detector, our commitment to providing impartial, evidence-based fact-checks is absolute. To maintain the trust of our readers and the integrity of our work, we believe in being completely transparent about who we are, who owns our organization, and how our work is self-funded.
Our editorial independence is our most valuable asset, and it is non-negotiable. This page details our ownership structure and sources of revenue.
Ownership Structure
Rumour Detector is an independent media organization. It is owned and operated by:
Shahadat Hossen, the founder of the organization. The organization is a sole proprietorship registered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is not owned or controlled by any political party, corporation, or state entity.
Our Funding Model
To ensure our operational independence, we secure funding from a diverse range of sources. All our revenue streams are kept separate from our editorial decision-making process. No funder, donor, or partner has any influence over the conclusions of our fact-check reports.
Our current and planned sources of funding include:
1. Founder’s Contribution / Seed Funding
Rumour Detector was initially established using the personal savings of our founder, Shahadat Hossen. This initial investment covers our primary operational costs, including website hosting and domain registration.
2. Grants from Foundations
We actively seek grants from national and international non-profit foundations that support independent journalism, public information, digital literacy, and human rights. We only accept grants from organizations that respect our editorial independence.
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Our Principle: Grantors provide financial support for our mission but have zero input or influence on what we choose to fact-check or the outcomes of our research. All grant agreements explicitly guarantee our editorial freedom.
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Our Transparency: Any grant received that exceeds a significant amount will be publicly disclosed on this page.
3. Donations from Readers (Public Support)
We believe that public support is the best way to ensure our long-term independence. We accept donations from our readers and members of the public who believe in our mission.
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Our Principle: A donation does not entitle the donor to any special treatment, influence our editorial decisions, or request that we investigate or avoid a specific topic. All editorial decisions are made independently by our team.
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How to Support Us: If you would like to support our work, you can do so via our Support Us page.
4. Content Syndication and Partnerships
We may enter into content-sharing or syndication agreements with other media organizations (newspapers, TV channels, online portals). These partners may pay a fee to republish our fact-check reports.
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Our Principle: All such partnerships are based on a shared commitment to accuracy. Our partners do not have any influence over our editorial process.
Statement of Editorial Independence
We want to state this unequivocally: The conclusions of our research and the ratings we assign in our fact-check reports are determined solely by our editorial team based on the best available evidence.
Our funding sources do not see our content before it is published and have no say in our editorial process. This firewall between our funding and our editorial work is fundamental to our identity and is strictly enforced.
Financial Transparency
We are committed to full financial transparency. We will publish an annual report detailing our sources of income and our expenditures to provide a clear overview of our operations.
If you have any questions about our funding or ownership, please do not hesitate to Contact Us.
