RSF thanks Craig Newmark Philanthropies for its renewed support of the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI)

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is grateful to the Craig Newmark Philanthropies which has partnered with RSF to develop the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), a market-based solution to foster media that implement and respect verification and correction methods, professional journalism ethics, editorial independence and demonstrate transparency. On February 11, 2022, the foundation created by Craig Newmark announced an additional contribution of 250,000 dollars.  

“I would like to express sincere gratitude to Craig, who demonstrates his commitment to the values of journalism every day,” said Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of RSF. “Without his support, RSF would not have been able to give JTI the scope it has achieved in recent years. As we move into the implementation phase, this renewal is wonderful news for all of us who are working towards the future of journalism worthy of the name.”

To make a clear distinction between journalism worthy of the name, JTI translates existing professional standards into machine-readable code. In journalistic production, the criteria for quality and independence must be transparent and verifiable to restore trust. To this end, JTI provides indicators for media to assess themselves and for citizens, advertisers and regulators to identify media that meet professional standards. JTI does not assess individual content, as this could be misused to restrict freedom of expression. 

The successful development of the JTI has been achieved in two phases: 

• the drafting and adoption of a catalog of criteria for trustworthy journalism. 
• the implementation of the jti-app which allows media to self-assess their compliance with the JTI standard and improve their editorial management systems where necessary; to publish their self-assessment; and to be independently audited and certified.

JTI is currently in the third phase of its development, the implementation phase, which ultimately aims to have hundreds of media outlets of different types, sizes and countries using JTI, and to ensure that JTI-certified media outlets receive the maximum benefit. 

Support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies will enable the Journalism Trust Initiative to be deployed in the US. 

CRAIG NEWMARK PHILANTHROPIES
Craig Newmark Philanthropies was founded by craigslist founder Craig Newmark to support and connect values and encourage civic engagement. The organization works to advance local individuals and organizations in areas such as trusted journalism, voting rights protection, gender diversity in the tech world, and veteran and military families. For more information: craignewmarkphilanthropies.org

RSF
Founded in 1985, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is a leading NGO promoting freedom, independence and pluralism in journalism. It is recognised as a public interest organization in France and has consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). Based in Paris, RSF has 14 offices worldwide (Berlin, Brussels, Dakar, Geneva, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm, San Francisco, Taipei, Tunis, Vienna and Washington) and more than 150 correspondents in 130 countries on five continents. For more information on RSF and its activities, visit www.rsf.org