Advertisement
Advertisement
Press freedom in Hong Kong
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
The South China Morning Post is the first Asian news organisation to join the Trust Project. Photo: Edmond So

South China Morning Post joins the Trust Project to promote transparency and credibility in journalism

  • It is the first Asian news organisation to join the global network of major media platforms
  • The Post believes a commitment to transparency is foundational to journalistic excellence, CEO Gary Liu says

The South China Morning Post has become the first Asian news organisation to join the Trust Project, a global network of major media outlets working to develop transparency standards to help the public assess the credibility of journalism.

Worldwide, 32 media outlets including the BBC, The Washington Post and The Economist are part of the project, along with external partners such as search engines Google and Bing, and social network Facebook, which use the standards of the project to display quality reporting.

“The South China Morning Post believes a commitment to transparency is foundational to journalistic excellence, which is why today we are pleased to join the Trust Project,” Post CEO Gary Liu said.

“This is just the latest step in our drive to earn our readers’ trust through transparent practices, and we hope that other news organisations in the region will join us in implementing clear policies to bolster the freedom of the press.”

The Post has implemented transparent newsroom policies that adhere to the consortium’s trust indicators. Photo: Martin Chan

Approved news sites with the Trust Project display “trust indicators” – a set of digital standards showing the organisations’ ethics and the measures they adopt for fairness and accuracy, a journalist’s background and the information behind a news story. The indicators help readers make informed decisions about what to read and share.

The Post said it had implemented transparent newsroom policies that adhered to the consortium’s trust indicators, including policies on ethics, corrections, fact-checking and sourcing.

These trust indicators, featured on the website, aim to provide readers with insight into the methodology of SCMP’s journalism as authentic, reliable, and balanced, it said.

Especially amid the coronavirus pandemic, what the world needs now is swift and objective coverage from credible news sources and a focus on transparency and education to prevent overreaction and panic
Tammy Tam, editor-in-chief, South China Morning Post

“Especially amid the coronavirus pandemic, what the world needs now is swift and objective coverage from credible news sources and a focus on transparency and education to prevent overreaction and panic,” Post editor-in-chief Tammy Tam said.

“The Trust Project provides us with transparent standards of news production to help readers around the world who come to us for quality, trustworthy journalism.”

The project’s founder and chief executive, award-winning journalist Sally Lehrman, welcomed the Post’s addition.

“As the Trust Project expands and more news sites adopt the trust indicators, now a globally accepted standard, we can slow the spread of false and misleading news and amplify valuable journalism produced by reputable news organisations across the world,” Lehrman said.

Also joining the project this month are major international, regional and local organisations, including Spanish current affairs magazine Cambio 16, Frontline – the flagship investigative documentary series of the Public Broadcasting Service, The National Observer, CTV News, The Southern California News Group and The Denver Post.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Post is first Asian news outlet to join Trust Project
Post