MindSite News joins The Trust Project® to advance trustworthy news

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Mar 21, 2023, 11:35 ET

8 Trust Indicators® help public identify honest journalism; encourage accountability and integrity

OAKLAND,Calif., March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a strong stance against the flood of disinformation causing division and doubt, MindSite News, a national news site focused on mental health reporting, has implemented the Trust Project's 8 Trust Indicators® to help readers and viewers easily recognize trustworthy news. It joins hundreds of news outlets committed to socially responsible, transparent journalism.

"At a time when disinformation and misinformation has become rampant, we are excited to be able to offer readers a way to gauge the trustworthiness and integrity of our site and to offer new ways to engage with us," said Rob Waters, founding editor. "For us, joining the Trust Project is a way to join with our colleagues and take a stand, and we are honored to be part of it."

MindSite News, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outfit that launched in September 2021, took part in an extensive, six-month process to implement the 8 Trust Indicators – strengthening policies, training staff, and restructuring the site to increase transparency.

MindSite News is also pleased to announce a series of recent grant awards that help to support our reporting. They come from the California Health Care Foundation, the National Institute for Health Care Management, the Ittleson Foundation, the van Ameringen Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund and the 4am Fund. We are also pleased that the Sozosei Foundation renewed its support for MindSite News for two more years.

The 8 Trust Indicators are a widely accepted integrity and accountability standard developed by The Trust Project in collaboration with the public and news organizations worldwide. The Indicators help people know who and what is behind a given news story through disclosures about:

Best practices (standards and policies)
Journalist expertise
Type of work labels (identifying whether an article is news or opinion, for example)
References behind claims
Methods of reporting
Local expertise and sourcing
Diverse voices and perspectives
Actionable feedback (public engagement)

"We proudly welcome MindSite News into the global Trust Project. Their commitment to accuracy, inclusion, impartiality and accountability underscores journalism's vital role in every community - and throughout democracy," said Sally Lehrman, founder and chief executive of the Trust Project. "Together, the Trust Project Network amplifies integrity-based journalism and slows the spread of false and misleading claims around the world."

To learn more about The Trust Project and the 8 Trust Indicators, visit thetrustproject.org.

About the Trust Project:
The Trust Project is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit working with a global network of news organizations to affirm and amplify journalism's commitment to transparency, accuracy and inclusion. The Trust Indicators® are a collaborative, journalism-generated standard for news that helps both people and algorithms easily assess the authority and integrity of news. For more, visit https://thetrustproject.org/faq/.

About MindSite News:
MindSite News is the only national news site in the country devoted to reporting on mental health. It was created by veteran journalists and mental health experts to address a huge unmet need for deep, independent reporting on mental health issues. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital journalism organization that seeks to sustain a sense of national urgency about the workings and failings of the U.S. mental health system and to transform that system by making it more equitable, effective, transparent and humane in its care for individuals and families struggling with mental illness. For more, visit https://www.mindsitenews.org.

SOURCE MindSite News