ABOUT US
Who stands behind the magnifying glass
Die Aufrechte Lupe is an independent fact-checking and research platform. We belong to no party, no parliamentary group, no association and no government. Nobody outside the editorial team decides what we check or how we rate it.
Who we are
We check political claims, document what happens to taxpayers’ money, compare promises with results and show where Germany solves problems. We are not a party, not a movement and not an organisation with a political goal. We are an editorial team.
What we do
We publish reports: background pieces that explain figures and connections from primary sources, and opinion pieces that are marked as opinion and carry their author’s name. In a vote, the facts and their sources come first, then the question to you. Every piece follows the same rules: sources open, page references given, fact kept apart from opinion.
What we do not do
What we do not do: we give no voting recommendations. In fact checks and background pieces we take no position on the substantive questions we examine; only opinion pieces take positions, with a name and a disclosure. We publish no sponsored fact checks. We rate statements, not people. We run no comment section, no tracking and no outrage to order.
Who is behind it
Die Aufrechte Lupe is operated by MBG International Premium Brands GmbH, registered in Paderborn, Germany. The publisher is Andreas W. Herb. The sole shareholder of the operator is MBG Holding GmbH. Founded in September 2026.
Management: Andreas W. Herb, publisher. Andreas W. Herb is CEO of the MBG Group in Paderborn, a group of companies in the beverage industry. As publisher he is responsible for the content under § 18(2) Medienstaatsvertrag, the German interstate media treaty, and he writes opinion pieces that carry his name.
Editorial team: the editorial team currently consists of the publisher.
Responsible within the meaning of § 18(2) Medienstaatsvertrag: Andreas W. Herb, address in the legal notice. Disclosures for everyone named: see conflicts of interest.
The editorial team
- Andreas W. Herb, Herausgeber
Andreas W. Herb ist CEO der MBG Group in Paderborn, einer Unternehmensgruppe der Getränkebranche. Als Herausgeber verantwortet er die Inhalte nach § 18 Abs. 2 MStV und schreibt namentlich gekennzeichnete Meinungsbeiträge.
How we work
By a published method, a published source standard and a corrections policy that binds us. This is how we check: our method. Where our figures come from: source standard. When we get it wrong: corrections policy.
Research and drafts are produced with the help of AI tools. Every figure is checked at its source, and nothing is published without the publisher’s release.
What we live on
Who pays us: funding. Where we could be biased: conflicts of interest. In short: Die Aufrechte Lupe is funded by the MBG Group. No money from parties, parliamentary groups or governments.
How you can hold us to account
Open the sources on any piece. Check one page reference. Read the corrections log. If you find an error, report it. You do not have to share our view. But when a figure stands here, you should know where it comes from.
We look closely, because this country matters to us.