Tarkemmat

Tarkemmat is a Finnish-language initiative and platform dedicated to promoting precision and verifiability in information dissemination. The project focuses on improving sourcing, evidence, and metadata quality in digital content.

The name is Finnish, from tarkempi, meaning "more precise," chosen to reflect the aim of increasing accuracy in published material. The project is not a single publication but a collaborative ecosystem that brings together researchers, libraries, archives, and media-literacy organizations.

History and scope: Tarkemmat was launched in 2015 by a consortium including the National Library of Finland and the University of Helsinki. Since then it has grown to involve libraries, archives, educators, and research groups. The platform hosts guidelines, tools, and datasets intended to support better information practices.

Activities and outputs: The initiative develops guidelines for source annotation, a standardized metadata schema, and checklists for evaluating statements. It provides educational materials for information literacy and maintains an open dataset of annotated claims. The platform operates through community contributions and peer review to ensure quality and transparency.

Impact and reception: Tarkemmat is used by libraries, educators, journalists, and researchers to improve information literacy and data quality. It has been praised for its collaborative approach and practical tools, while some critics note challenges in applying the guidelines to very large-scale content and the need for ongoing maintenance and updating.

See also: Fact-checking, Information literacy, Metadata, Open data.