NewsTrust

NewsTrust is a nonpartisan, non-profit news network that operates a web site where users are able to reference news stories, rate those stories according to quality of journalism, post reviews and add stories they themselves find worthwhile.

History

NewsTrust was first presented as an idea via MoveOn.org, in which MoveOn cofounder Wes Boyd expressed concern about "traditional media...losing" its way. He recruited Fabrice Florin, then CEO of cellular content provider Handtap Communications, to run the effort, which would rate news stories on a daily basis as to whether it was "news you can trust." The site was launched in a basic mode in May 2005,

In 2011, NewsTrust piloted a Baltimore-specific site focused on news local to Baltimore. NewsTrust launched in Baltimore due to its proximity to the Open Society Institute's Baltimore branch and hired a former editor of the Baltimore Sun, Mary Hartney, as the editor. The Baltimore pilot ended six months after it was launched, although user-submitted content continues to be posted, and the NewsTrust mission shifted to a more "fact-checking services"-based model for the 2012 election.

Partnerships and funding

NewsTrust lists many partners in the media, including Huffington Post, PolitiFact and the Washington Post and advisors including Howard Rheingold of Stanford University and Craig Newmark of Craigslist. NewsTrust has also received financial donations from different nonprofit foundations and private donors.