About us

Table of Contents:
• Our Mission
• Our Model
• How to Contribute
• Our Truth Scale
• Our Team
• Finances
• The Platform's Name

Our Mission

Dignitas is a collaborative platform where you can analyze the truth value of statements from Romanian politicians.

We believe that people's interest in the affairs of the city is an essential manifestation of freedom. If we perceive our laws as a set of external rules handed down by a remote political class, then we will consider them an impingement on our freedom. If instead we perceive laws as being ours, commonly adopted and refined, then we will obey them without feeling that our freedom is restricted.

That is why our interest in our politicians' conduct is direct and continous. Dignitas encourages you to follow the politicians (members of parliament, ministers, local authorities), to analyze their statements and to scold them when they lie. This is how we handle other people in our lives, be it family members, friends, colleagues or handymen.

Our Model

Politicians are numerous. Romania's fate is decided at central and local levels by the president, by the government, by the parliament, by mayors, by county and local councils. We feel that Dignitas's mission is too vast for a handful of people. Therefore, unlike other fact checking websites, we chose a collaborative model. For instance, a few enthusiasts from a given town can monitor the statements of the local authorities, which have considerable impact over life in that town. This job would be much harder for someone not living in that town, unfamiliar with the local realities and lacking easy access to public information concerning the town.

Specifically, we adopted a model similar to Stack Overflow. As you participate in the Dignitas community by voting, commenting and adding statements and answers, you will earn reputation in recognition of your efforts.

How to Contribute

After you create an account, you can start adding public figures and their statements, as well as fact checking statements already on the site. Your contributions will appear on the website immediately. A moderator will later examine them and, if necessary, suggest improvements in contents and formatting.

Make sure that the statements (or promises) you want to add meet the Dignitas criteria:

• attribution: it must be easy to verify that the person actually made the statement;
• notability: the statement is made by a Romanian politician who holds (or has held) a public office;
• official quality: the statement is made only in the discharge of people's official duties (including on social networks);
• impact: the statement is related to the quality of life of citizens;
• verifiability: the statement must be able to be confirmed or refuted, at least in part, on the basis of data and facts.

If you are not sure that the statement you want to add meets the Dignitas criteria, then send us a message at contact@dignitas.ro and we will take care of that statement.

Our Truth Scale

Dignitas gives one of the following verdicts to fact-checked statements. For details, please visit the Verdicts and proofs help page.

•   None: The statement has not yet received an answer that establishes a truth value convincingly.
•   Undecidable: There is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the statement.
•   False: The statement is demonstrably false.
•   Mostly false: The main statement is demonstrably false, but some secondary elements may be true.
•   Mixed: The statement contains significant proportions of true and false elements and does not fit in other categories.
•   Mostly true: The main statement is demonstrably true, but some secondary elements may be false.
•   True: The statement is demonstrably true.

Our Team

Dignitas is being developed by Cătălin Frâncu (programmer) and Sonia Frâncu (UX, UI). The founders are not members of any political party.

The website contents (statements and their analyses) is created by users like yourself.

Finances

Dignitas has no material finances. In particular, Dignitas is not endorsed or financed by any political party. We developed it in our spare time and we host it on the computer in our home office.

The Platform's Name

In ancient Rome, dignitas was a virtue with an elusive definition, a mix of dignity, prestige, influence and uprightness. We chose this name because, in the long run, we wish to become more than a collection of statements and truth values. From this ephemeral data we can build a permanent image of the true measure of each politician.