This page explains exactly how we gather, verify and present the news at Sonderbriefing, and what you can do if you believe we have got something wrong. We want you to understand our methods so you can judge our reporting for yourself, and we want you to feel empowered to hold us accountable when we fall short.
What we rely on day to day
We base every article on a clear chain of evidence, drawn from sources we can identify and, wherever possible, verify independently. This means we start with primary documents, official data or direct testimony, and we only move to secondary sources when the primary material is unavailable or incomplete.
Our reporters routinely use Swedish government publications, Riksdag records, Statistics Sweden data, European Union official journals and reports from national agencies such as the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. For economic and market stories, we consult central bank statements, company filings and recognised statistical releases. For political reporting, we attend press briefings, read committee transcripts and speak directly to elected officials or their named spokespeople. Cultural and society pieces draw on academic research, published surveys and interviews with relevant experts, all of whom are identified by name and role in the article unless a legitimate safety or confidentiality concern applies.
We do not publish anonymous sources unless the material is demonstrably in the public interest and the source faces a genuine risk. When we do grant anonymity, we explain why in the article. Every direct quote is either recorded, transcribed by the reporter or confirmed in writing with the speaker before publication.
Fact-checking is a distinct stage in our workflow, not a box to tick. Our fact-checking editor, Laura Arnold, reviews every quantitative claim, proper noun, date and key descriptive statement against original documents before an article goes live. She also checks our own previous reporting to ensure consistency. Where a claim is disputed or uncertain, we either attribute it clearly or remove it until we can verify. You can read our full fact-checking policy for a detailed breakdown of our checks.
We also draw on wire services, primarily the Swedish news agency TT and the German dpa, for breaking events we cannot cover in person. In those cases we identify the wire as the source in the article and supplement it with our own reporting as soon as possible. Our editorial team, led by Chefredaktör Tim Zimmermann and Redaktionschef Sarah Fuchs, decides which wire stories merit full treatment and which are better linked or summarised.
For translations of Swedish sources into German (our primary output language) we use a combination of in-house translators and, where appropriate, AI-assisted tools. Every translated quotation is checked against the original Swedish by a human editor before publication. No translation is published without human approval.
How this works in practice
To make this concrete, let us take a typical example. Suppose we report that the Swedish government has announced a change to the income tax threshold for 2025. Our Wirtschaftreporter, Melanie Schumacher, would first obtain the official press release from the Ministry of Finance and the corresponding legislative proposal on the Riksdag website. She would then compare the figures against the previous year’s thresholds using Statistics Sweden data, and check the estimated revenue effect against the Finance Ministry’s budget projection. She would interview either the relevant minister’s press secretary or an opposition finance spokesperson, and confirm the quote back to them. The draft article, with all figures and sources hyperlinked, would go to Laura Arnold for fact-checking. Only after Laura signs off does the article pass to Sarah Fuchs or Sebastian Roth for final editorial review. If the article contains a calculation or an estimate, that calculation is double-checked by a second reporter before publication.
If later an error is discovered — say the threshold figure was off by 2,000 kronor — we would correct the article immediately, append a clear correction note at the top, and, if the error was significant, publish a separate correction notice. The correction would be logged and available to all readers.
How to challenge our reporting
If you believe an article contains an error, a misleading statement or a missing context, we want to hear from you. The quickest route is to email our fact-checking team directly at factcheck@sonderbriefing.de. Please include the headline, the URL, the specific claim you are challenging and your source for the correct information. We respond to every substantive query within two working days, and if we confirm an error we correct it immediately and note the change.
For complaints that go beyond a single factual error — for example concerns about bias, fairness or selection of sources — we have a formal complaints procedure overseen by Chefredaktör Tim Zimmermann. You can also write to him directly at anders.lindqvist@sonderbriefing.de or call +46 8 525 030 61. We take all complaints seriously and will explain our editorial decisions in writing. If you are unhappy with our response, you can escalate the matter to the Swedish Press Council (Pressens Opinionsnämnd) or the relevant German press regulatory body, depending on where the alleged breach occurred.
We also encourage readers to submit tips and documents that may help us improve our reporting. Our tips line is tips@sonderbriefing.de, and you can find more information on how to share material securely on our Tip Us page. We treat every tip confidentially and will not disclose your identity without your permission.
Sonderbriefing is owned by Sonderbriefi Media Ltd., a private company registered in Gibraltar (C 92009, Malta Business Registry). Our commercial relationships — including display advertising, affiliate links, sponsored content and content licensing — are kept completely separate from editorial decisions. Sponsored content is clearly labelled as such, affiliate links are disclosed, and no advertiser or partner has any influence over our editorial coverage. You can read our full ownership and funding statement for more detail.
In short
We build every article on named, verifiable sources, checked by a dedicated fact-checker before publication, and we correct mistakes openly when they happen. If you spot something that does not add up, please tell us directly — we are here to earn your trust, one story at a time.