The Trust Indicators, developed by the Center-hosted Trust Project network to help readers identify quality journalism, are one of the sources being used by NewsGuard Technologies for a new product to improve news literacy. Not only did the Trust Indicators form a foundation for NewsGuard review development, but Trust Project participation also is a factor that supports a positive evaluation.
The company, which uses trained journalists to rate and supply “nutrition labels” reviews for thousands of news and information websites, has just launched its first product: extensions for Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome browsers that will be available to the public and to libraries, news literacy groups and schools for use at their facilities.
The plugin is free to all users.
“Today marks the beginning of common sense, transparent, accountable human intelligence directed at solving the problem of false or unreliable online news that artificial intelligence has been struggling with,” said NewsGuard co-founder Steven Brill.
“Whether it’s the website of a newspaper, broadcaster, opinion journal, think tank, newly trending blogger or government propaganda arm, all sites in a news feed or search look much the same,” added NewsGuard co-founder Gordon Crovitz. “Now, with NewsGuard’s ratings and Nutrition Labels, readers will know who and what’s behind what they’re reading.”
The Trust Project, a consortium of top news companies led by award-winning journalist Sally Lehrman, has developed transparency standards that are a source for NewsGuard’s evaluations. These Trust Indicators are standardized disclosures that provide clarity on a news organization’s ethics and other standards for fairness and accuracy, a journalist’s background, and the work behind a news story. Senior executives from more than 75 news organizations collaborated to create them.