We Stand for Integrity
Look for our 8 Trust Indicators, now presented on hundreds of news sites. They are the first global transparency standard that helps people know who and what is behind a news story: policies to ensure honesty, accuracy and fairness, commitments to own up to mistakes, details about ownership, info on a journalist’s expertise, and more.
The Trust Project built the Trust Indicators by asking people what they value in the news – and what wins and loses their trust. Then we married their insights with bedrock journalism values to come up with eight core disclosures that every reader, listener and viewer deserves to know.
The Trust Project operates as a consortium of top news companies led by founder and award-winning journalist Sally Lehrman. We are people and organizations dedicated to restoring the trusted role of the press in serving the public good.
Learn MoreThe 8 Trust Indicators
Los 8 Indicadores de Confianza Descargar
We asked people what they look for in trusted media – and from their answers, we created ‘Trust Indicators’ for the press to build into news sites.
Best Practices
- Who funds the site? What is its mission?
- What standards and ethics guide the process of gathering news?
- What happens if a journalist has ties to the topic covered?
Journalist Expertise
- Who made this?
- Are there details about the journalist, including contact information, areas of knowledge and other stories they’ve worked on?
Type of Work
- What is this?
- Do you see story labels with clear definitions to distinguish opinion, analysis, and advertiser (or paid) content from news reports?
References
- What is the source?
- Does the site tell you where it got its information? For investigative, controversial, or in-depth stories, are you given access to the original materials behind the facts and assertions?
Methods
- Why was it a priority?
- For investigations, in-depth or controversial stories, why did they pursue the topic?
- How did they go about the process?
Locally Sourced
- Do they know the community?
- Was the reporting done on the scene?
- Is there evidence of deep knowledge about the local situation or community?
Diverse Voices
- What are the newsroom’s efforts and commitments to bring in diverse perspectives across social, ideological and demographic differences?
- Are some communities or perspectives included only in stereotypical ways, or even completely missing?
Actionable Feedback
- What does the site do to engage your help in setting coverage priorities, asking good questions and finding the answers, holding powerful people and institutions accountable and ensuring accuracy?
- Can you provide feedback that might provoke, alter or expand a story?
Across the Globe
The Trust Project has global reach like no other.
The Trust Project Network
With more than 300 news sites as partners, The Trust Project continues to champion news transparency and accuracy. Join us today.
Helping Tech Support Trustworthy News
The Trust Project is the first to give search engines and social media platforms the consistent technical standards they need to surface reliable, relevant and honest news.
Our external tech partners, Google, Facebook and Bing, all use the Trust Indicators in display and behind the scenes.
Join our Cause
If you’re a news organization and want to join the Trust Project, use this form to let us know. Learn our requirements in our Resources section.
If you are not a member of the media and appreciate the work we are doing at The Trust Project, follow us on social and share #TheTrustProject with your peers.
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