As both everyday people and politicians look ahead to major elections around the world with hope and concern, the Trust Project® is expanding its nonpartisan #CheckThe8 campaign to bring people together in fighting the falsehoods that deceive, divide, and undermine democracy.
The ad and social media campaign uses compelling images to invite attention to the 8 Trust Indicators, a proven system that enables anyone to easily assess the trustworthiness of their news sources. In a survey associated with a similar campaign that led people to information about the Trust Indicators, 60 percent of those who responded said they gained more confidence in assessing news.
Such public confidence is vital. Experts predict a significant rise in mis/disinformation as elections heat up, with generative AI potentially a dangerous accelerant. It’s well-known that uncertainty about access to accurate information can lead people to avoid the news and in turn, step away from civic engagement altogether.
“The #CheckThe8 campaign invites people to embrace their own role in democracy and help others recognize when they can trust news – and when they cannot,” said Sally Lehrman, founder and CEO of the Trust Project. “The Trust Indicators allow people to apply their own priorities while also using consistent, global standards of transparency around ethics, funding, ownership, accuracy, labels for opinion and other measures.”
The social media campaign invites the public to register for the #CheckThe8 campaign and receive free materials to share the 8 Trust Indicators® as a news awareness tool. The ad campaign, running in 14 countries across Latin America, Europe and elsewhere, points people to a learning page with the Trust Indicators. Both are available in eight languages and dialects. Together, we can remind each other, “Trust starts with you.”
This nonpartisan campaign builds on a news literacy campaign co-founded in 2018 by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), The Trust Project, UW Accelerating Social Transformation leadership program, UW Center for an Informed Public and Pamela Kilborn-Miller.
