Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) becomes Hong Kong’s only Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certified news outlet, reflecting its commitment to high-quality, trusted, and transparent journalism. This milestone comes as the English-language news outlet on Hong Kong affairs celebrates its 10th anniversary.
“The certification of HKFP extends JTI’s global reach and relevance even further. Ethical journalism, anywhere in the world, requires agreed-upon norms, standards, or best practices that can be verified.”
Benjamin Sabbah, Director, Journalism Trust Initiative
“HKFP is proud to be Hong Kong’s first JTI certified news outlet. As we mark our 10th anniversary this week, it is a timely signal to partners, governments, social media platforms, and search engines that HKFP’s journalism is accurate, accountable and transparent.”
Tom Grundy, Editor-In-Chief and Founder, Hong Kong Free Press
HKFP underwent a rigorous, 130-point evaluation of its editorial and ethical practices by external, independent auditors over the past year. The process involved disclosing HKFP’s governance structure, sources of funding, training procedures, and policies to ensure editorial independence. Unlike other credibility indicators, the JTI evaluation by external, independent auditors considers how journalistic work is put together, not just the output.
Over 2,000 media outlets have joined the certification process across 119 countries – around 100 outlets have obtained their JTI certification.
JTI was developed in 2019 as an ISO standard by a panel of 130 experts, including journalists, institutions, regulatory bodies, publishers, and new technology players. It aims to tackle the rise in disinformation and the acceleration of unregulated AI.
It works as a benchmark for governments, regulators, advertisers, social media platforms, and search engines to be assured that HKFP delivers quality, accurate, and ethical reporting. Already, the algorithms of search engine Bing, digital newsstand Cafeyn, content aggregator YEP and fact-checking application Ask Vera recognise the certification.
