Poligrafo – Bias and Credibility

Poligrafo is rated Left-Center with High factual reporting by Media Bias Fact Check.

History

Founded in 2018, Polígrafo is a Portuguese fact-checking and journalism organization based in Lisbon. According to its Editorial Statute, its primary mission is to verify claims made in the public sphere while defending liberal democracy and combating misinformation.

Polígrafo publishes political, economic, health, international, and social fact checks and has partnered with television broadcaster SIC and several European media-literacy and fact-checking organizations.

Read our profile on Portugal’s media and government.

Funded by / Ownership

Polígrafo is published by Inevitável e Fundamental. In January 2026, Grupo Media Capital acquired an 80% stake in the company, while Episódio Inédito retains 20%. Media Capital also owns Portuguese television network TVI.

According to Polígrafo’s ownership and funding disclosure, revenue comes from advertising through SAPO and partnerships involving organizations such as Meta, TikTok, Impresa/SIC, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the European Fact-Checking Standards Network, and Iberifier. Polígrafo reported €1,097,756 in revenue in 2024 and states that Meta’s share of revenue fell from 96% in 2022 to below 50% in 2024, substantially reducing dependence on a single funder.

Analysis / Bias

Polígrafo’s fact-checking generally demonstrates strong balance and sourcing. Its editorial statute states that it has no political or ideological agenda, does not accept anonymous sources, provides supporting documentation whenever possible, and publicly corrects errors.

For example, Could a sovereign wealth fund for intervention in strategic companies violate European law? examines criticism of a proposal by center-right Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and consults multiple legal and economic experts. Rather than adopting the criticism, Polígrafo concludes that such a fund is not automatically illegal and that legality depends on how it is structured.

Likewise, Do these messages prove that Fauci covered up the 82% abortion rate among those vaccinated against COVID-19? traces the claim to a misinterpretation of a 2021 medical study and links directly to the original New England Journal of Medicine research and subsequent correction.

Polígrafo’s editorial section, however, demonstrates a mild liberal-democratic and anti-populist perspective. The clearest example is Uma reflexão obrigatória no dia em que o Polígrafo muda de mãos, in which founder Fernando Esteves describes Donald Trump’s political rise as introducing an organized system of politically motivated falsehoods and specifically identifies populist movements and André Ventura as examples of the threat misinformation poses to democracy.

This framing is clearly more critical of right-wing populism than of mainstream liberal or left parties. However, the bias is mostly confined to clearly identified editorial commentary and does not substantially compromise the organization’s fact-checking methodology. Therefore, we rate Polígrafo Left-Center biased.

Failed Fact Checks

• None to date. Polígrafo is an IFCN-verified fact-checker and adheres to standards requiring nonpartisanship, transparent sourcing, disclosure of funding and ownership, published methodology, and an open corrections process.

Overall, we rate Polígrafo Left-Center biased based on a mild liberal-democratic and anti-populist perspective evident primarily in its editorial commentary, while its fact-checking remains substantially nonpartisan. We rate it High for factual reporting due to rigorous sourcing, excellent transparency, a strong corrections policy, detailed financial disclosure, and adherence to IFCN standards. (D. Van Zandt 08/22/2026)

Source: https://poligrafo.sapo.pt/

Last Updated on August 22, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check

Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources