National News Literacy Campaign Launches to Fight Misinformation

Last week, the Trust Project​, a global consortium of news organizations responding to the crisis of trust and misinformation through the 8 Trust Indicators®, the Radio Television Digital News Association​ (RTDNA) and the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP) and Accelerating Social Transformation​ (AST) leadership program jointly announced a powerful new national news literacy campaign supported by Microsoft. The nonpartisan campaign leverages the Trust Project’s 8 Trust Indicators® to strengthen democracy by empowering the public to easily assess the trustworthiness of news. 

“With the global threat of misinformation so widely known, a large ‘anxious middle’ has arisen that we believe will welcome and benefit greatly from our simple system to assess news confidently,” said Sally Lehrman, founder and CEO of the Trust Project. “Thanks to Microsoft and our wonderful partners at the University of Washington and RTDNA, millions of Americans will learn about our Trust Indicators®. Our goal is to build the public’s capacity to resist misinformation and strengthen informed public participation in civic life.” 

"Microsoft strongly believes in the importance of media literacy education and is pleased to amplify the Trust Project's work to the millions of users of our news platform. Microsoft sees an urgent need to help consumers improve their ability to assess information online and to become more informed consumers of news and information," said Teresa Hutson, Microsoft Vice President of Technology and Corporate Responsibility.

Collaboration partners the Radio Television Digital News Association​, the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, and UW’s Accelerating Social Transformation​ leadership program all share the Trust Project’s belief that knowledge is power. 

About the Trust Indicators 
Created by the Trust Project, The 8 Trust Indicators® are a widely accepted standard for assessing the integrity behind a news site. They are transparency disclosures that show who and what is behind a given news story, including the standards, policies and expertise that ensure the site is producing honest journalism in service to the public interest. Since their creation, hundreds of news sites have adopted them. 

About the Campaign
A collaboration across four influential organizations, the nonpartisan media literacy campaign exposes millions of Americans this fall to clever calls-to-action on multiple Microsoft platforms, drawing attention to the Trust Project’s 8 Trust Indicators®. Additionally, the campaign leverages more than a dozen “Trust Indicator Ambassadors” who will evangelize the 8 Trust Indicators® across their communities. Throughout the campaign, the collaborators aim to better understand which ad creatives and messages drive the strongest results and share those insights. Compose[d], a New York-based agency and Certified B-Corp, managed creative production and media.
To learn more about the partnership and the 8 Trust Indicators®, visit: https://thetrustproject.org/trusted-journalism/ 
 
About Accelerating Social Transformation​ (AST):
Accelerating Social Transformation (AST), a professional development program offered through the Evans School for Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington, catalyzes and amplifies one’s potential to drive transformational social impact. Dr. Akhtar Badshah, an expert in the social impact field, leads AST with individuals from nonprofits, corporations, academia, and governments from around the world to supercharge their potential for leading positive change. 

About Center for an Informed Public (CIP):
The University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public is a nonpartisan research center with a mission to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse. We have assembled world-class researchers, labs, thought leaders, and practitioners to translate research about misinformation and disinformation into policy, technology design, curriculum development, and public engagement. This interdisciplinary effort is led by the Information School, Human Centered Design & Engineering and the School of Law, with collaboration from numerous other university and community partners.
 
About Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA):
RTDNA is the world's largest professional organization devoted exclusively to broadcast and digital journalism. Founded as a grassroots organization in 1946, RTDNA’s mission is to promote and protect responsible journalism. RTDNA defends the First Amendment rights of electronic journalists throughout the country, honors outstanding work in the profession through the Edward R. Murrow Awards and provides members with training to encourage ethical standards, newsroom leadership and industry innovation.
 
About the Trust Project:
The Trust Project is a global network of news organizations working to affirm and amplify journalism’s commitment to transparency, accuracy and inclusion. The Trust Project created the 8 Trust Indicators®, which are a collaborative, journalism-generated standard for news that helps both regular people and the technology companies’ machines easily assess the authority and integrity of news. The Trust Indicators® are based in robust user-centered design research and respond to public needs and wants. For more, visit: https://thetrustproject.org/faq/.