Codes of conduct for researchers, fact-checkers and journalists

The Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network has developed a Code of Principles for fact-checkers to follow globally that includes standards around the methodology of the practice. Groups are vetted to ensure that they follow the standards and those that are found to be in compliance are admitted to the network. The network has become the basis for Facebook’s fact-checking initiative, among others that have proliferated globally in contexts ranging from the EU and US to countries across the global south.

The Poynter Center's International Fact Checking Network (IFCN) is a network of newspapers, television, media groups, and civil society organizations that are certified by the IFCN to review content in ways that conform with international best practices. This is basically ensuring that the process and standards for fact-checking follow honest, unbiased guidelines and certify that the organizations and their staff understand and comply with these rules. IFCN standards link with earlier journalistic standards to source, develop, and publish stories, such as the Journalist's Creed, or national standards of journalism associations.

The Trust Project, funded by Craig Newmark Philanthropies. The Trust Project designed a system of indicators about news organizations and journalists in order to ensure reliable information for the public and encourage trust in journalism. These have been created to create norms that media organizations and social media can follow in order to maintain a standard of information released. This group has partnered with Google, Facebook, and Ring to "use the Trust Indicators in display and behind the scenes," according to their website, and has been endorsed by over 200 news organizations such as the BBC, El Pais, and the South China Morning Post. This project has also been translated and replicated in contexts such as Brazil, and invites journalists and organizations from around the world to join.

Reporters Without Borders, the Global Editors Network, the European Broadcasting Union, and Agence France Presse have formed a similar Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) to create similar standards for journalism ethics and trustworthiness. The initiative "is a collaborative standard setting process according to the guidelines of CEN, the European Committee for Standardization" according to its explanation of its history and process on the JTI's website. Also funded by Newmark, through a multiyear, multistakeholder process to develop and validate standards starting in 2018, the JTI seeks to build norms among journalists, promoting compliance within the community of news-writing, particularly to combat mistrust in journalism and disinformation.