Can World-Check list me based solely on newspaper articles without any official charges?

Yes. Adverse media screening is a core component of World-Check’s methodology, and listings based purely on press coverage — without any criminal charges, regulatory findings, or court proceedings — are common. However, such listings are legally vulnerable under GDPR because they often fail accuracy requirements and lack a proportionate legal basis for processing. Successful challenges typically involve demonstrating that the underlying reporting was inaccurate, defamatory, retracted, or based on unreliable sources, combined with evidence that continued listing causes concrete harm to banking access or business relationships.