July 2026 was the barometer's first full month of monitoring: 617 fact-checks published across the Romanian press, distributed over five verdicts. The figure that defines the month is not the number of false stories — there was a single FALSE verdict — but the share of literally accurate claims presented misleadingly: 177 analyses (29%) were rated MISLEADING, almost as many as those confirmed TRUE (236, 38%). In other words, misinformation in the monitored Romanian press does not invent facts, it frames them: the real figure out of context, correlation sold as causation, the party press release republished without checking. Another 192 analyses (31%) came out MOSTLY TRUE — the core of the claim correct, but with an approximation, an absolutisation or a missing condition. The grey zone, taken together, is larger than the white one. Where the volume comes from: the society (399 analyses) and politics (167) topics together cover 92% of the month's corpus. World affairs, technology and the economy are under 15 analyses each — a signal about what the Romanian press produced in July and what ended up being checked, not necessarily about where misinformation is concentrated. Politics, however, has the highest density of MISLEADING verdicts: all eight notable analyses of the month are political and all are misframed — party statements about African swine fever or a cancelled concert in Chișinău, exit scenarios for the interim prime minister, Romania's sovereign rating presented as a decision already taken, a law “defeated in the Senate” through deals that do not appear in the transcripts. The common pattern: a verifiable fact, used as a vehicle for a conclusion it does not support. By publication, six newsrooms passed the threshold of five checks. Realitatea.net dominates in volume (396 analyses, 68% true or mostly true), followed by G4Media (81, 73%), Gândul (46, 70%), Adevărul (30, 77%), Știripesurse (27, 74%) and HotNews (20, 60%). The percentages come with their floor: at 20–30 checks, a single analysis moves the figure by 3–5 points, so differences between publications are indicative, not rankings. What shows consistently, though, is that no monitored publication drops below 60% — the problem with the Romanian press in July is not the lie, but the missing nuance. The barometer reads as a series: the next edition will show whether the ratio of MISLEADING to TRUE is a structural feature of the corpus or an effect of the summer political agenda. The figures above are frozen at publication — this edition's permalink does not change, and every percentage links to the analyses that support it.
Published fact-checks: 617
| ADEVĂRAT | 236 |
| APROAPE ADEVĂRAT | 192 |
| ÎNȘELĂTOR | 177 |
| NECONCLUDENT | 11 |
| FALS | 1 |
| Publisher | Checks | True verdicts |
|---|---|---|
| realitatea.net | 396 | 68% |
| g4media.ro | 81 | 73% |
| gandul.ro | 46 | 70% |
| adevarul.ro | 30 | 77% |
| stiripesurse.ro | 27 | 74% |
| hotnews.ro | 20 | 60% |
The percentage is computed from checks made in this period, only for publishers with at least 5 checks. It is not a credibility score.
| social | 399 |
| politica | 167 |
| extern | 14 |
| tehnologie | 12 |
| economie | 7 |
| justitie | 5 |
| altele | 3 |
| cultura | 3 |
In-text citation: Justificat.ro, „Disinformation barometer — 2026-07", 2026-08-01, https://justificat.ro/en/barometer/2026-07
Permanent link: https://justificat.ro/en/barometer/2026-07
License: Verdicts and aggregate figures may be quoted freely with attribution and a link to Justificat.ro.
Narativ redactat cu asistență AI pe baza cifrelor înghețate ale ediției; revizuit editorial înainte de publicare.