Trusted News Initiative

The Trusted News Initiative (TNI) is an international alliance of news media, social media and technology corporations described as a “real-time, early warning system to flag serious disinformation that may pose a threat to life or the integrity of the electoral process.”¹⁾

The TNI was officially announced in September 2019 following an event called the Trusted News Summit convened by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).²⁾ A BBC media release cites “recent events such as the Indian elections” as the inciting incidents leading to the group's creation.^{3) 4) 5)}

In July 2020, the TNI announced it was working to “combat the spread of disinformation during the upcoming U.S. Presidential election.”⁶⁾

Though its initial mandate was related to elections, the TNI announced in March 2020 that it “will extend its efforts to identifying false and potentially harmful Coronavirus information” - just over two weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO)'s declaration of the multinational SARS-CoV-2 outbreak as a “pandemic”.^{7) 8)} Then, “with the introduction of several possible new COVID-19 vaccines” at the end of 2020, the TNI shifted again “to focus on combatting the spread of harmful vaccine disinformation.”⁹⁾

The initial group consisted of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Facebook, Financial Times, First Draft, Google, The Hindu, and the Wall Street Journal. Other groups including AFP, CBC/Radio-Canada, Microsoft, Reuters, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and Twitter joined the alliance shortly after.

The full list of organizations that have affiliated with the TNI include:

• AFP
• BBC
• CBC/Radio-Canada
• European Broadcasting Union
• Facebook
• Financial Times
• First Draft
• Google
• The Hindu
• Microsoft
• Reuters
• Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
• Twitter
• Wall Street Journal