Where people look for facts
Hope for facts
In breaking news situations, spreaders of misinformation, including those using AI, often exploit the public’s desire to find out what’s happening. In recent days, for example, the Israel-Iran conflict has been the subject of what 404 Media says is AI slop. The week before, it was the anti-ICE protests, as Time documented.
But two new data points might offer news organizations some solace. First, the recent Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report looked at how audiences check information they suspect to be false and found that “the biggest proportion said they would first look to news outlets they trust (38%).” This was followed by official sources (35%) and fact-checkers (25%). It’s worth noting, though, that younger users were more likely to look to social media.
Second, the Duke Reporters’ Lab, which does an annual census of fact-checkers around the globe, counted 443 active fact-checking projects this year. That number is only a 2% drop from last year despite Meta’s decision early this year to end its fact-checking program, a move that was considered a blow to the fact-checking community.
The lab also cited the addition of three newsrooms to the Gigafact fact-checking project, which helps local newsrooms respond to misinformation with bite-sized “fact briefs” about claims circulating online.
- Related: Here’s the public’s wish list for trust. Let’s get busy. (Trusting News)
News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.
Civic Discourse & Democracy
>> To endorse, or not to endorse (CJR)
Last year, The New York Times said it would no longer endorse candidates for local office. There’s an argument for that, says Bill Grueskin, as there is an argument that endorsements are “a noble civic exercise.” But “what you probably shouldn’t do is declare that you’re stopping endorsements, then turn around and publish a muddled one without explaining why,” he writes. That is what The Times did with New York City’s mayoral race, he said, awarding the paper a “dart” in CJR’s Laurels and Darts column.
- Related: Our advice to The New York Times about a vexing editorial decision (Vital City)
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Culture & Inclusion
>> New from API: 8 ways to build staff engagement in your news organization (Better News)
How can newsrooms strengthen workplace culture through better employee engagement? With grants of $5,000 each from API, eight news organizations tried different approaches, including staff surveys, team-building and/or training. Their experiments, part of API’s 2025 Connection + Collaboration Learning Cohort, hold lessons and insights for other newsrooms seeking to build healthy cultures. One lesson is that this is not a one-off endeavor. “It’s a continuous effort,” said the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jill Williams. “You can’t stop.”
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Community Engagement & Trust
>> Life on the other side: Refugees from ‘old media’ flock to the promise of working for themselves (Associated Press)
David Bauder surveys the landscape of journalists who have left established news media for independent platforms like Substack and concludes that they are “spearheading a full-scale democratization of media and a generation of new voices and influencers.” Among those he spoke with is former Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, who co-founded The Contrarian and says she and her colleagues have been “having a ball with it.”
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Revenue & Resilience
>> 160-year-old Tuskegee newspaper to remain in business after purchase by Macon County (Montgomery Advertiser)
The Tuskegee News in Alabama is staying open through a new, and unusual, arrangement in which it will operate under the ownership of the Macon County Economic Development Authority. The weekly paper’s owner was headed for retirement and its publisher also wanted to step down after 32 years, writes Sarah Clifton. Said economic development director Joe Turnham: “To have lost it would have been tragic.”
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What else you need to know
⚖️ Media Matters sues F.T.C. over advertising investigation (The New York Times)
🎦 This new app wants to help prose-loving journalists make the leap into vertical video (Nieman Lab)
🌈 How St. Petersburg’s new lesbian newspaper is preserving queer Florida history (Tampa Bay Times)
🌩️ Nonprofit news executives share tips on handling the tough times (Nieman Lab)
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