Facts, never opinions
Recto spots sites posing as news outlets as soon as they are created, and shows, for each news outlet, an ID card made only of public facts. A machine spots, people check, the State decides, and the reader sees facts.
- 01 Starting from public registers
- 02 Seeing imitations of news outlets appear
- 03 Settling doubts on the ground
- 04 Giving the State a ready-made file
- 05 An ID card for every news outlet
Starting from public registers
Everything starts from data anyone can consult: the .fr domains published every day by Afnic, the security certificate each site presents, the CPPAP list of press services, the company register and web archives.
Each fact is recorded with its source, its date and a fingerprint of the page. Information that changes does not replace the old one: it is added to it.
- No private or paid-for data
- Nothing is edited by hand
- archivesno trace before 14 Oct 202615/10 06:04
- companiesno SIREN number shown on the site15/10 06:04
- cppapnot on the list15/10 06:03
- certificatescertificate issued on 14 Oct 202615/10 06:02
- afnicdomain created on 14 Oct 202615/10 06:02
Seeing imitations of news outlets appear
About 2,000 .fr domains are created every day. Only those whose name looks like a news outlet are examined closely, by written rules: a name imitating a recognised title, an invented news outlet name, a defunct newspaper whose domain has been taken over, sites sharing the same technical traces.
- Every alert is explained by a rule
- Alerts stay internal, never public
- Legal notices are read by fixed rules, without AI
- plomberie-martin.frnothing to report
- gite-les-sources.frnothing to report
- atelier-cyclo.frnothing to report
- cabinet-roux-avocats.frnothing to report
- boulangerie-du-centre.frnothing to report
- lereveil-vallon-info.fralert
- Recognised title
- lereveil
de (removed)vallon.fr - New
- lereveil- (added)vallon-info (added).fr
Settling doubts on the ground
A machine sees that a site is recent. It does not know whether the address shown exists, or whether the journalist signing is known in the department. A person from the area does.
Two local correspondents examine the same case without seeing each other’s answers. A lead reviewer then validates it, or dismisses it.
- Closed questions, under 30 minutes
- Screenshots prepared by Recto: no visit to the site
- Never named, only an identifier
- Does the address shown exist?no
- Is the signing journalist known?no
- Has this title been published before?no
- Is the title known locally?no
- Does the address shown exist?no
- Is the signing journalist known?no
- Has this title been published before?no
- Is the title known locally?no
- Answers match, done
- Validated by the lead reviewer, done
- File ready, done
Giving the State a ready-made file
The file can be read in five minutes: the facts recorded, the local correspondents’ answers, the dated proofs, and a file that analysis tools can use. Recto suspends nothing and passes judgement on no one. Only an authority decides.
- Each local correspondent learns the outcome of the cases they checked
The format and channel for referral remain to be agreed with the authorities concerned.
Diagram description
Validated file: 6 dated proofs, 2 checks and a STIX export. It goes to the competent authority depending on the case: VIGINUM (interference), Afnic (.fr domains) or Arcom (regulation). The diagram marks “received” when each one gets it.
An ID card for every news outlet
The same facts form a public, free card: who publishes the site, whether it is recognised as a press service, how long it has existed, what the authorities say about it. On the back, the detail for anyone who wants to check.
The card never passes judgement on a site. It shows where each piece of information comes from and lets the reader draw their own conclusion.
- Four states, always written out in full: Verified, Declared by the site, Inconsistent, Not declared
- “Verified” always means: confirmed by an official source
- Who publishes this siteVerified · Éditions du Réveil SARLCompany register · 15/10/2026
- Recognised as a press serviceVerified · Registered with the CPPAPCPPAP · 15/10/2026
- How long the site has existedVerified · Domain created on 3 March 2011Afnic · 15/10/2026
What everyone gets
One base of public facts, three uses. No one has to take Recto’s word for it: every piece of information links to a source anyone can consult.
The reader
A factual card for every news website, available in one gesture, with no account or mandatory installation.
The authorities
Imitations of news outlets spotted as soon as they are created, checked twice and documented, ready to be investigated.
The local area
A network of local correspondents, by invitation, that lasts because it sees the effect of its work.
What Recto never displays
Only an authority passes judgement on a site. Recto shows facts.
- a score
- a verdict colour
- “reliable” or “suspicious”
- a number of reports
- a check in progress
- a local correspondent’s name
The sites, names and cases on this page are fictional examples.
Page published on , updated on .