CORRECTIV is Germany's first nonprofit investigative newsroom, founded in 2014 by journalist David Schraven in Essen, a former mining city in the Ruhr Valley. The organization emerged from Schraven's desire to preserve editorial independence after budget cuts threatened his investigative unit at a major German publisher. With an annual budget of approximately four million euros and a staff of 60, CORRECTIV has become one of the world's largest nonprofit centers for investigative journalism.
The organization's investigations have made significant impact. In 2024, CORRECTIV exposed a secret meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam where participants discussed plans for mass deportations of immigrants and people with migrant heritage, sparking widespread pro-democracy demonstrations across Germany. Earlier major projects included the CumEx Files, a collaborative investigation with international partners documenting how lawyers and financiers extracted tens of billions in fraudulent tax rebates from European governments, and research into Germany's housing market through crowdsourced data collection.
Beyond traditional reporting, CORRECTIV operates a journalism school called Reporterfabrik since 2017 and maintains a fact-checking division that works with Facebook to counter misinformation. The organization publishes books, produces documentaries, stages exhibitions, and runs a crowdsourcing platform enabling citizen participation in investigations. CORRECTIV also supports exiled journalists through its Exile program, including the Turkish-language news desk Özgürüz.
The newsroom funds itself through individual donations, foundation grants, and income from its commercial publishing subsidiary. A network of approximately 1,100 local reporters across Germany strengthens its reach beyond its Berlin main office and Essen headquarters.