Report March 2025

Submitted

Your organisation description

Advertising

Commitment 1

Relevant signatories participating in ad placements commit to defund the dissemination of disinformation, and improve the policies and systems which determine the eligibility of content to be monetised, the controls for monetisation and ad placement, and the data to report on the accuracy and effectiveness of controls and services around ad placements.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

Measure 1.6

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Measure 1.6

Relevant Signatories will advance the development, improve the availability, and take practical steps to advance the use of brand safety tools and partnerships, with the following goals: - To the degree commercially viable, relevant Signatories will provide options to integrate information and analysis from source-raters, services that provide indicators of trustworthiness, fact-checkers, researchers or other relevant stakeholders providing information e.g., on the sources of Disinformation campaigns to help inform decisions on ad placement by ad buyers, namely advertisers and their agencies. - Advertisers, agencies, ad tech companies, and media platforms and publishers will take effective and reasonable steps to integrate the use of brand safety tools throughout the media planning, buying and reporting process, to avoid the placement of their advertising next to Disinformation content and/or in places or sources that repeatedly publish Disinformation. - Brand safety tool providers and rating services who categorise content and domains will provide reasonable transparency about the processes they use, insofar that they do not release commercially sensitive information or divulge trade secrets, and that they establish a mechanism for customer feedback and appeal.

QRE 1.6.3

Signatories that provide brand safety tools will outline how they are ensuring transparency and appealability about their processes and outcomes.

NewsGuard’s brand safety service, BrandGuard, enables brands to invest in ad inventory on news sites that publish trustworthy journalism, and avoid placing ads on sites that repeatedly publish mis- or disinformation. BrandGuard offers multiple “inclusion” and “exclusion” list options, enabling brands to tailor their approach to account for their values while enforcing the publisher’s right to be heard.

BrandGuard’s inclusion and exclusion lists are based entirely on NewsGuard’s Reliability Ratings of news and information websites, which are compiled by a team of experienced journalists based on nine apolitical journalistic criteria. Our rigorous rating process is explained in detail on our website, on a page called “Website Rating Process and Criteria.”

As the page describes, our process is transparent and accountable to everyone involved—including publishers, advertisers, and the general public. Each criterion is defined at length, with numerous examples of how a publisher would pass or fail the criterion. For each rating, we provide a written Nutrition Label report that explains why NewsGuard made its determination on each of the criteria.

Unlike other brand safety providers that rely on black box algorithms, NewsGuard’s journalists contact any publisher that fails any of the nine criteria before publishing a rating. Publishers may address any issues to increase their score or provide comments, which are included in the Nutrition Label report so that advertisers may judge for themselves whether the publisher should be monetized. Once a rating or update is published, we notify websites of their scores so that they are aware of any issues that could lead to their exclusion from an ad inventory.

This transparent process allows publishers not only the right of reply — but an opportunity to improve. More than 2,230 websites have taken steps to improve editorial practices after being contacted by our team — leading advertisers in some cases to monetize their websites.

QRE 1.6.4

Relevant Signatories that rate sources to determine if they persistently publish Disinformation shall provide reasonable information on the criteria under which websites are rated, make public the assessment of the relevant criteria relating to Disinformation, operate in an apolitical manner and give publishers the right to reply before ratings are published.

NewsGuard’s ratings for news websites are based on nine apolitical criteria that assess the website’s credibility and transparency. Each criterion is worth a certain number of points out of 100, weighted based on importance. All criteria are pass-fail, meaning that a site either receives all of the points associated with the criterion or receives no points for that criterion, and are applied in a way that ensures a publisher’s right to be heard.

All of our criteria and the associated points are publicly available on a page of our website called “Website Rating Process and Criteria” that provides a detailed explanation of each criterion and lists examples of reasons that a site might pass or fail this criterion. To ensure our process remains strictly apolitical, NewsGuard relies on apolitical criteria when rating a site and carries out a manual and rigorous editing process involving approximately five journalists and editors per website rating, ensuring no rating is the assessment of a single person. The most debated analyses undergo a final review step in which it is shared with the full team of NewsGuard analysts, including the two co-CEOs, to raise any issues and ensure consistency.

Before publishing a rating or update, we always seek feedback from publishers that fail any of our criteria. Each assessment of a website is made public via NewsGuard’s browser extension, which is available for public subscription, and is personally sent to each publisher evaluated, when it is published for the first time, and after each update. NewsGuard subscribers and rated publishers can read NewsGuard’s detailed analyses, called “Nutrition Labels,” which explain why NewsGuard made its determination on each of the criteria, provide evidence and examples to back up its assessments, and include any relevant comments from the publisher. Additionally, we also invite publishers who disagree with our rating to provide feedback on a dedicated page of our website.

Empowering Users

Commitment 17

In light of the European Commission's initiatives in the area of media literacy, including the new Digital Education Action Plan, Relevant Signatories commit to continue and strengthen their efforts in the area of media literacy and critical thinking, also with the aim to include vulnerable groups.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

Measure 17.2 Measure 17.3

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Measure 17.2

Relevant Signatories will develop, promote and/or support or continue to run activities to improve media literacy and critical thinking such as campaigns to raise awareness about Disinformation, as well as the TTPs that are being used by malicious actors, among the general public across the European Union, also considering the involvement of vulnerable communities.

QRE 17.2.1

Relevant Signatories will describe the activities they launch or support and the Member States they target and reach. Relevant signatories will further report on actions taken to promote the campaigns to their user base per Member States targeted.

In 2024, NewsGuard participated in numerous media literacy events with journalists, librarians, teachers and citizens on topics ranging from how AI is being used in disinformation campaigns, to spotting unreliable sources. The events took place in several Member States: France, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, and Spain.

Such events have included lessons on misinformation and disinformation for students at Padua University, Luiss University, LUMSA University, Salerno University, and La Sapienza University in Italy but also at the New Bulgarian University (Bulgaria), and at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece); classes at the Paris’ Interdisciplinary Center for Strategic Studies and for high school pupils in the south of France; and webinars with librarians and school teachers in Italy and France.

Throughout the year, NewsGuard was regularly involved in initiatives led by IDMO, the Italian Digital Media Observatory, of which NewsGuard is a member.

Our editors have also spoken at conferences to raise awareness on specific issues related to mis- and disinformation, in several Member States, including Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. These events included a panel on “Disinformation at the heart of conflicts” at the Military School in Paris, a keynote on the risks of generative AI at Italy’s AI week; a panel at the plenary assembly of the Club of Venice on the “Challenges of communicating the EU enlargement and the progress in countering disinformation” in Slovenia; and a presentation on the need for transparency in the age of AI at the European Media and Information Fund Summer Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

In 2024, NewsGuard also continued providing its browser extension for free to more than 900 public libraries throughout the world, including approximately 200 public libraries in Italy, France, Germany and Slovenia.

SLI 17.2.1

Relevant Signatories report on number of media literacy and awareness raising activities organised and or participated in and will share quantitative information pertinent to show the effects of the campaigns they build or support at the Member State level.

In 2024, NewsGuard participated in 15 media literacy seminars and awareness raising events in France, Italy, Bulgaria, and Greece. These events reached a total number of approximately 550 participants, including educators and librarians who in turn could reach hundreds of students and library users. NewsGuard also participated in 41 speaking engagements in Italy, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Romania, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Sweden, reaching more than 5,350 attendees.

Country	Nr of media literacy/ awareness raising activities organised/ participated in	Nr of participants
Austria	0	0
Belgium	1	25
Bulgaria	1	20
Croatia	0	0
Cyprus	1	100
Czech Republic	0	0
Denmark	0	0
Estonia	0	0
Finland	0	0
France	14	1859
Germany	3	220
Greece	1	15
Hungary	0	0
Ireland	1	25
Italy	29	3460
Latvia	0	0
Lithuania	0	0
Luxembourg	0	0
Malta	0	0
Netherlands	0	0
Poland	0	0
Portugal	1	100
Romania	1	30
Slovakia	0	0
Slovenia	1	50
Spain	1	40
Sweden	1	40
Iceland	0	0
Liechtenstein	0	0
Norway	0	0

Measure 17.3

For both of the above Measures, and in order to build on the expertise of media literacy experts in the design, implementation, and impact measurement of tools, relevant Signatories will partner or consult with media literacy experts in the EU, including for instance the Commission's Media Literacy Expert Group, ERGA's Media Literacy Action Group, EDMO, its country-specific branches, or relevant Member State universities or organisations that have relevant expertise.

For both of the above Measures, and in order to build on the expertise of media literacy experts in the design, implementation, and impact measurement of tools, relevant Signatories will partner or consult with media literacy experts in the EU, including for instance the Commission’s Media Literacy Expert Group, ERGA’s Media Literacy Action Group, EDMO, its country-specific branches, or relevant Member State universities or organizations that have relevant expertise.

QRE 17.3.1

Relevant Signatories will describe how they involved and partnered with media literacy experts for the purposes of all Measures in this Commitment.

Through the Italian Digital Media Observatory’s portal, NewsGuard regularly makes its content and analysis on disinformation in Italy and in Europe public, contributing to the consortium’s media literacy efforts.

NewsGuard has various partnerships and collaborations with research institutions and universities that study disinformation, such as La Sapienza University in Rome, Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, Carlo Bo University in Urbino, University of Salerno, the European University Institute in Florence, the Italian National Research Council, Tilburg University in The Netherlands, Stockholm University in Sweden, the university of Bamberg in Germany and the German Max-Planck-Institute.

A 2024 study published in the “Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media” examined the use of NewsGuard’s Reliability Ratings in academic research. The paper—authored by researchers from TU Graz, the University of Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, and RWTH Aachen University—concluded that NewsGuard has become the most widely used and comprehensive dataset in this space, using a rigorous and transparent methodology, without exhibiting any political bias.

NewsGuard's Reliability Ratings are also integrated into Microsoft Search Coach, a free app in Microsoft Teams that helps educators and students produce effective queries and identify reliable resources when conducting online research. Search Coach is available globally in 38 different languages.

Commitment 22

Relevant Signatories commit to provide users with tools to help them make more informed decisions when they encounter online information that may be false or misleading, and to facilitate user access to tools and information to assess the trustworthiness of information sources, such as indicators of trustworthiness for informed online navigation, particularly relating to societal issues or debates of general interest.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

Measure 22.4 Measure 22.5

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Measure 22.4

Relevant Signatories providing trustworthiness indicators will ensure that information sources are being reviewed in a transparent, apolitical, unbiased, and independent manner, applying fully disclosed criteria equally to all sources and allowing independent audits by independent regulatory authorities or other competent bodies.

QRE 22.4.1

Relevant Signatories will provide details of the basic criteria they use to review information sources and disclose relevant safeguards put in place to ensure that their services are apolitical, unbiased, and independent. They will provide examples of how these are applied equally to a representative range of different publishers. Each analysis will indicate who contributed to assessing the source, or which certification body assessed the source.

Our ratings are based on nine apolitical and basic journalistic criteria that refer to the credibility and transparency of a news or information site. Our nine criteria are applied equally to all news sites, no matter their size or political orientation, from mainstream media outlets to small blogs, while allowing all sites to exert their right to be heard.

Our criteria are basic journalistic principles and are inherently apolitical. They are also completely transparent and explained in great detail on our website, along with the relative weighting of each criterion, depending on its importance.

Our rating process is designed to ensure our criteria are applied in an unbiased manner. After an analyst produces a first rating, with an associated Nutrition Label explaining in detail why he or she arrived at such a rating, the analysis is edited by at least two editors. Then, if any doubt remains about how to apply a specific criterion, it is discussed during a full staff meeting hosted by our two co-CEOs and co-Editors-in-Chief, Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz. Over the years, this process has led NewsGuard to assign high ratings and poor ratings to sites of all political leanings.

To ensure fairness, publishers are also put at the center of our rating process and given a chance to comment whenever our team flags an issue with the credibility or transparency of their site.

For the sake of accountability, readers can see the credentials and backgrounds of everyone responsible for every NewsGuard Reliability Rating and Nutrition Label that they read.

We also allow users to submit suggestions of sources to rate, if we have not yet rated them, and to send feedback on existing ratings.

Finally, to ensure complete independence, we accept no fees from websites for rating them. Our revenue comes from license fees that platforms, ad agencies, brands, media monitoring companies, AI companies, and researchers — among other groups — pay to use our data.

Measure 22.5

Relevant Signatories providing trustworthiness indicators will provide compliance and correction mechanisms and respect the right of publishers to be heard, including to engage in the assessment process before indicators are applied and to have their responses available to consumers after assessments are published.

QRE 22.5.1

Relevant Signatories will publish regular corrections on their ratings or indicators if updates or mistakes occur. Relevant Signatories will provide examples of exchanges with publishers, including evidence of this engagement as recorded in trustworthiness indicators, and will regularly update their analysis to reflect any changes in the publications' practices, including any improvement of their practices.

NewsGuard is committed to making clear, prominent corrections of any mistakes that appear in our ratings or Nutrition Labels. Our corrections policy is stated on a dedicated page on our website, which includes a form where users can report possible errors for us to review. The corrections appear as notes at the bottom of the relevant Nutrition Label analyses, making clear what the original error was and how it has been corrected.

Publishers can also send requests for corrections and have the opportunity to note any error in our ratings and write-ups when they receive our Nutrition Labels, since we systematically send publishers our initial ratings and updates after they are published, thus enforcing their right to be heard.

All of our Nutrition Labels are also regularly updated. We update labels in our database on average once a year, although we update the most engaged websites more regularly (every six months), and also update ratings more frequently if we become aware of a change in the publication’s practices. When a site’s rating changes because the site has improved its practices, this specific change is described in an editor’s note. We also engage in lengthy conversations with publishers to help them understand how they can meet certain criteria and improve their score.

For example, in March 2024, Austrian regional news website Unsertirol24.com’s score went from 44.5/100 to 62.5/100 after it started labeling press releases more transparently. In December 2024, as the result of engaging with NewsGuard, the staff of Scinexx.de, a German science magazine, added information about its content creators, thus improving its score from 95/100 to 100/100. In December 2024, the score of French right-wing website LaLettrePatriote.com went from 47/100 to 69.5/100 after the site added an Editorial Team page providing a directory of its staff, identified its publishing director, and added clear correction notes in past articles after engaging with NewsGuard.

SLI 22.5.1

Relevant signatories will report on the total number of instances per Member State where, following a publisher exercising its right to be heard before a rating or updated rating is issued, a rating of untrustworthy changes to a rating of trustworthy.

In 2024, 16 websites from our European database (7 French-language, 4 Italian-language, and 5 in German) saw their rating go from untrustworthy (below 60/100) to trustworthy (60/100 and above), including TopSante.com, the website of a French monthly health and wellness magazine that publishes general medical information, and that had advanced unsubstantiated claims about natural remedies in the past.

All our score changes are recorded internally in the site’s rating history, as well as noted in editor’s notes at the bottom of each Nutrition Label. Data measurement is therefore easily done by looking at the ratings and updates published in the timeframe concerned. We also record whether sites have responded to our inquiries, and which practice they’ve improved after engaging with us.

Country	Total Nr of instances when a publisher’s rating changed from untrustworthy to trustworthy following a hearing before a rating/updated rating is issued
Austria	1
Belgium	0
Bulgaria	0
Croatia	0
Cyprus	0
Czech Republic	0
Denmark	0
Estonia	0
Finland	0
France	7
Germany	4
Greece	0
Hungary	0
Ireland	0
Italy	4
Latvia	0
Lithuania	0
Luxembourg	0
Malta	0
Netherlands	0
Poland	0
Portugal	0
Romania	0
Slovakia	0
Slovenia	0
Spain	0
Sweden	0
Iceland	0
Liechtenstein	0
Norway	0

SLI 22.5.2

Relevant Signatories will report regularly on the number of publishers who have improved their journalistic practices after being assessed on the disclosed criteria and whose conformity, respectively trustworthiness scores thereby improved.

Since NewsGuard launched in 2018, 2,230 news and information websites around the world (in the E.U. but also in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.) have improved their journalism practices after engaging with us, increasing their accountability and providing readers with more trustworthy news and information.

In 2024, 56 French-language websites, 35 Italian-language websites, and 25 German-language websites improved their NewsGuard ratings.

All our score changes are recorded in our database and explained in editor’s notes at the bottom of each Nutrition Label.

Country	Total Nr of publishers who improved their score under the trustworthiness indicator
Austria	4
Belgium	0
Bulgaria	0
Croatia	0
Cyprus	0
Czech Republic	0
Denmark	0
Estonia	0
Finland	0
France	56
Germany	21
Greece	0
Hungary	0
Ireland	0
Italy	35
Latvia	0
Lithuania	0
Luxembourg	0
Malta	0
Netherlands	0
Poland	0
Portugal	0
Romania	0
Slovakia	0
Slovenia	0
Spain	0
Sweden	0
Iceland	0
Liechtenstein	0
Norway	0

Empowering Researchers

Commitment 29

Relevant Signatories commit to conduct research based on transparent methodology and ethical standards, as well as to share datasets, research findings and methodologies with relevant audiences.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

Measure 29.1

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Measure 29.1

Relevant Signatories will use transparent methodologies and ethical standards to conduct research activities that track and analyse influence operations, and the spread of Disinformation. They will share datasets, research findings and methodologies with members of the Task-force including EDMO, ERGA, and other Signatories and ultimately with the broader public.

QRE 29.1.1

Relevant Signatories will provide reports on their research, including topics, methodology, ethical standards, types of data accessed, data governance, and outcomes.

In 2024, NewsGuard launched three new Tracking Centres. Our U.S. Election Misinformation Tracker, covering misinformation surrounding the 2024 U.S. presidential election; our European Parliamentary Elections Misinformation Tracking Center, summarizing and debunking the top election-related myths identified by NewsGuard’s team of journalists; and our 2024 Paris Olympics Misinformation Tracking Center, tracking the top false narratives about the Games and the websites that were spreading them.

We also regularly updated our AI Tracking Centre highlighting the ways in which generative AI has already been (or could be) deployed to turbocharge misinformation operations. As for our Israel-Hamas War MisinformationTracking Centre and our Russia-Ukraine Disinformation Tracking Center, they catalog all myths about the conflicts, and the websites spreading them.

During the year, NewsGuard’s team also produced 9 special reports covering misinformation and disinformation on different topics, trends, and platforms, such as:

150 State-Sponsored Articles Blaming the West for the Moscow Terrorist Attack
The Fugitive Florida Deputy Sheriff Who Became A Kremlin Disinformation Impresario
TikTok Content Farms Use AI Voiceovers to Mass-Produce Political Misinformation
Grok AI’s New Image Generator Is a Willing Misinformation Superspreader
Russia Resurrects its NATO-Ukraine False Narrative: NATO troops in coffins
AI Chatbots Are Blocked by 67% of Top News Sites, Relying Instead on Low-Quality Sources

NewsGuard relies on the data of its two datasets: Reliability Ratings (analyses of the reliability of all the news and information sources that account for 95% of online engagement in the countries it operates in, with 11,010 website ratings as of Dec. 2024), and Misinformation Fingerprints (a catalog of the top misinformation narratives spreading online, with 3,051 false narratives as of Dec. 2024).

QRE 29.1.2

Relevant Signatories will update their research in the Transparency Centre to allow for greater awareness and availability of their work.

All NewsGuard’s yearly reports are available in the Transparency Centre. NewsGuard’s public reports have been regularly shared on IDMO’s portal.

QRE 29.1.3

Relevant Signatories will provide detailed information on methodology development to all stakeholders informed about research results. They will also regularly inform all members of the Task-force, including ERGA, EDMO and other Signatories about research activities they conduct, and, wherever possible, the related methodologies used. They will finally share, wherever possible, such research outcomes and related methodologies with the broader public.

NewsGuard’s white paper, “Fighting Misinformation with Journalism, not Algorithms,” which is published on our website, outlines independent research on the effect of using human-curated news reliability ratings to mitigate false news, some of which has been conducted by leading academic institutions and other top scholars using NewsGuard’s Reliability Ratings dataset.

In 2024, dozens researchers used NewsGuard’s Reliability Ratings and/or NewsGuard’s Misinformation Fingerprints as the basis for their research on misinformation and disinformation.

NewsGuard is regularly in touch with ERGA and EDMO informing them of its works, making its data available when requested, and offering access to its datasets to monitor disinformation in Europe.

NewsGuard’s special reports and analyses are all available to the public on NewsGuard’s website, including outcomes and methodologies.

Transparency Centre

Commitment 35

Signatories commit to ensure that the Transparency Centre contains all the relevant information related to the implementation of the Code's Commitments and Measures and that this information is presented in an easy-to-understand manner, per service, and is easily searchable.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

Measure 35.3 Measure 35.5

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

No.

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Permanent Task-Force

Commitment 37

Signatories commit to participate in the permanent Task-force. The Task-force includes the Signatories of the Code and representatives from EDMO and ERGA. It is chaired by the European Commission, and includes representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS). The Task-force can also invite relevant experts as observers to support its work. Decisions of the Task-force are made by consensus.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

Measure 37.1 Measure 37.2 Measure 37.3 Measure 37.4 Measure 37.5 Measure 37.6

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

No.

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Measure 37.6

Signatories agree to notify the rest of the Task-force when a Commitment or Measure would benefit from changes over time as their practices and approaches evolve, in view of technological, societal, market, and legislative developments. Having discussed the changes required, the Relevant Signatories will update their subscription document accordingly and report on the changes in their next report.

QRE 37.6.1

Signatories will describe how they engage in the work of the Task-force in the reporting period, including the sub-groups they engaged with.

NewsGuard has been regularly participating in the meetings of the Code of Practice signatories, including the meeting about the conversion of the code into a Code of Conduct.

Monitoring of the Code

Commitment 38

The Signatories commit to dedicate adequate financial and human resources and put in place appropriate internal processes to ensure the implementation of their commitments under the Code.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

Measure 38.1

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

No.

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Measure 38.1

Relevant Signatories will outline the teams and internal processes they have in place, per service, to comply with the Code in order to achieve full coverage across the Member States and the languages of the EU.

QRE 38.1.1

Members of NewsGuard’s European team (including Roberta Schmid, Managing Editor and Vice-President Partnerships for Germany and Austria, and Virginia Padovese and Chine Labbé, co-Managing Editors and Vice-Presidents for Partnerships for Europe,) are responsible for implementing and monitoring the company's commitments under the code in Germany, Austria, Italy, and France.

Commitment 39

Signatories commit to provide to the European Commission, within 1 month after the end of the implementation period (6 months after this Code’s signature) the baseline reports as set out in the Preamble.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

No.

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Commitment 41

Signatories commit to work within the Task-force towards developing Structural Indicators, and publish a first set of them within 9 months from the signature of this Code; and to publish an initial measurement alongside their first full report.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

Measure 41.1 Measure 41.2 Measure 41.3

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

No.

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Commitment 42

Relevant Signatories commit to provide, in special situations like elections or crisis, upon request of the European Commission, proportionate and appropriate information and data, including ad-hoc specific reports and specific chapters within the regular monitoring, in accordance with the rapid response system established by the Task-force.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

No.

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Commitment 43

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

No.

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Commitment 44

Relevant Signatories that are providers of Very Large Online Platforms commit, seeking alignment with the DSA, to be audited at their own expense, for their compliance with the commitments undertaken pursuant to this Code. Audits should be performed by organisations, independent from, and without conflict of interest with, the provider of the Very Large Online Platform concerned. Such organisations shall have proven expertise in the area of disinformation, appropriate technical competence and capabilities and have proven objectivity and professional ethics, based in particular on adherence to auditing standards and guidelines.

We signed up to the following measures of this commitment

In line with this commitment, did you deploy new implementation measures (e.g. changes to your terms of service, new tools, new policies, etc)?

No.

If yes, list these implementation measures here

Do you plan to put further implementation measures in place in the next 6 months to substantially improve the maturity of the implementation of this commitment?

No.

If yes, which further implementation measures do you plan to put in place in the next 6 months?

Crisis and Elections Response

Elections 2024

[Note: Signatories are requested to provide information relevant to their particular response to the threats and challenges they observed on their service(s). They ensure that the information below provides an accurate and complete report of their relevant actions. As operational responses to crisis/election situations can vary from service to service, an absence of information should not be considered a priori a shortfall in the way a particular service has responded. Impact metrics are accurate to the best of signatories’ abilities to measure them].

Threats observed or anticipated

European Parliamentary Elections - NewsGuard launched its 2024 European Parliamentary Elections Misinformation Tracking Center on June 4, 2024, to track false claims targeting the event. NewsGuard’s team identified false and misleading narratives targeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; EU laws, regulations, and proposals; agriculture in the EU; and the EU voting procedures. The claims spread on social media as well as on misinformation and disinformation websites.

Mitigations in place

N/A

Scrutiny of Ads Placements

Outline approaches pertinent to this chapter, highlighting similarities/commonalities and differences with regular enforcement.

Since November of 2020, NewsGuard has implemented a specific “Election or Voting Misinformation” metadata field accompanying its Reliability Ratings, to allow brands and advertisers using its BrandGuard services to easily identify these sites and make sure their ad money does not support misinformation on electoral processes. Since then, our analysts have been tracking websites that repeatedly publish false or egregiously misleading claims about elections. These include sites that have published misinformation about the 2020 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections, the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, the 2017 and 2024 French presidential election, the September 2021 and 2025 federal elections in Germany, and the 2022 Italian national election, and the 2024 European Parliamentary Elections. In doing so, NewsGuard continued using its transparent and apolitical evaluation process, whose methodology is detailed on its website, with all criteria clearly explained to publishers. NewsGuard also made sure that news publishers being flagged for spreading Election Misinformation were aware of it and given a right to comment on issues flagged by NewsGuard. NewsGuard also continued offering these websites the possibility to publish a full response to their ratings.

Empowering Users

Outline approaches pertinent to this chapter, highlighting similarities/commonalities and differences with regular enforcement.

In February 2024, NewsGuard launched a “2024 Elections Misinformation Tracking Center” to monitor the spread of misinformation related to several elections scheduled for 2024. NewsGuard launched its 2024 European Parliamentary Elections Misinformation Tracking Center on June 4, 2024, to detect new and emerging false claims, NewsGuard’s team has been monitoring publishers that our analysts have determined have a history of repeatedly publishing false or egregiously misleading claims related to elections, including websites and social media accounts and video channels.

In 2024, NewsGuard’s analysts participated in 15 media literacy seminars and awareness raising events in France, Italy, Bulgaria, and Greece, and an additional 41 speaking engagements in Italy, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Romania, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Sweden. Most touched on all relevant crises, including the European Parliamentary Elections, such as a panel discussion called “Information disorder in time of elections: insights from the 2024 European Elections” organized by the European Commission in Italy on June 26, 2024.

Empowering the Research Community

Outline approaches pertinent to this chapter, highlighting similarities/commonalities and differences with regular enforcement.

In 2024, NewsGuard sent regular briefings to its clients, including researchers, on the 2024 European Parliamentary Elections, on top of its Tracking Center.

Crisis 2024

Threats observed or anticipated

Russia-Ukraine crisis - In 2024 NewsGuard continued updating its “Russia-Ukraine Disinformation Tracking Center, launched in March 2022, immediately after Russia started its full-scale invasion. Through our constant monitoring of Russian disinformation in Russian, English, French, Italian, and German across different platforms and websites, we have observed actors pushing false narratives about Ukraine, but also sowing division and nurturing anti-war and war fatigue sentiments across Member States and playing up European fears and dissent. As of December 2024, NewsGuard’s Russia-Ukraine Disinformation Tracking Center had identified 280 false narratives about the war, being spread by 645 websites around the world, including in Italy, France, Germany and Austria, versus 166 myths spread by 445 sites at the end of 2023.

2024 Paris Olympics - NewsGuard launched its 2024 Paris Olympics Misinformation Tracking Center on July 23, 2024, to address the barrage of false claims targeting the high-visibility, international sporting event. From fabricated media reports to content misrepresented as coming from brands or government agencies, false claims about the event focused on supposed terrorist threats and security risks, Paris’ alleged lack of preparedness, and the presumed lack of popularity of the Games, seemingly aiming at undermining trust in the Games and the authorities organizing them, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In total, NewsGuard’s team identified 36 misinformation narratives relating to the 2024 Paris Olympics in 17 languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Turkish. The claims spread on social media as well as on 83 news and information websites. Confirming Russian influence operations targeting the Games, NewsGuard found that twenty-five of the 83 sites had a history of publishing false, pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation, including 11 sites that belong to the Pravda network, a group of anonymously-owned sites that republish content from pro-Kremlin sources and frequently advance false or egregiously misleading information.

Rise of AI-generated content and Foreign Influence of Large-Language Models - In July 2024, NewsGuard launched its AI Misinformation Monitor, a monthly report that monitors the propensity for leading AI chatbots (such as ChatGPT and Gemini) to produce false information when prompted with untrue claims and false narratives, including State-sponsored narratives. Using a journalistic method grounded in rigorously verified data and human expertise, these monitors measure the trustworthiness of the AI industry in the domain of news. NewsGuard analysts identify vulnerabilities in AI systems that result in the spread of false information, allowing developers to strengthen their models and improve their safeguards.

Mitigations in place

N/A

Scrutiny of Ads Placements

Outline approaches pertinent to this chapter, highlighting similarities/commonalities and differences with regular enforcement.

Russia-Ukraine crisis - Throughout the year, NewsGuard monitored and added to its database new detailed Reliability Ratings of websites spreading Russian Disinformation. NewsGuard also continued to update the “Russia-Ukraine Misinformation” metadata field accompanying its Reliability Ratings, to allow brands and advertisers using its BrandGuard services to easily identify these sites and make sure their ad money does not support the Kremlin disinformation machine. In doing so, NewsGuard continued using its transparent and apolitical evaluation process, whose methodology is detailed on its website, with all criteria clearly explained to publishers. NewsGuard also made sure that news publishers being flagged for spreading Russia-Ukraine disinformation were aware of it, and given a right to comment on issues flagged by NewsGuard. NewsGuard also continued offering these websites the possibility to publish a full response to their ratings.

2024 Paris Olympics -During several months before and after the 2024 Paris Olympics, NewsGuard monitored and added to its database new detailed Reliability Ratings of websites spreading misinformation about the Games. In doing so, NewsGuard continued using its transparent and apolitical evaluation process, whose methodology is detailed on its website, with all criteria clearly explained to publishers. NewsGuard also made sure that news publishers being flagged for spreading 2024 Paris Olympics Misinformation were aware of it, and given a right to comment on issues flagged by NewsGuard. NewsGuard also continued offering these websites the possibility to publish a full response to their ratings.

Empowering Users

Outline approaches pertinent to this chapter, highlighting similarities/commonalities and differences with regular enforcement.

Russia-Ukraine crisis - In 2024, NewsGuard continued to closely monitor sources of Russian disinformation within the continent, constantly adding new sources to its Tracking Center, and rating these sources according to its transparent rating system, so that users with access to its browser extension (a consumer product available to all for a monthly subscription fee) could make informed decision about which sources to trust, and which to be wary of, when reading the news online, and as the war became a protracted one. In a non-crisis situation, NewsGuard’s main editorial promise is to rate all news and information sites that account for 95% of online engagement with news. However, for this specific line of work - just like we do for every crisis situation and did before for the COVID-19 pandemic -, NewsGuard’s analysts went further, looking for any site spreading mis- and disinformation about the war in the languages we cover (English, French, Italian and German,) - even those responsible for very little online engagement - and making sure we rated them. We also made sure to track all sources that spread the myths we were uncovering, in order to cover more sources.

In 2024, NewsGuard’s analysts participated in 15 media literacy seminars and awareness raising events in France, Italy, Bulgaria, and Greece, and an additional 41 speaking engagements in Italy, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Romania, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Sweden. Most touched on all relevant crises, including the Russia-Ukraine war. Throughout the year, NewsGuard’s analysts fed its browser extension with transparent analyses of Russia-Ukraine misinformation sources. The analysts continued basing their ratings - as they always do - on NewsGuard’s transparent, apolitical and independent process, applying equally our nine criteria to all sources.

2024 Paris Olympics - In July 2024, NewsGuard ramped up efforts to identify, rate, and monitor sources of 2024 Paris Olympics Misinformation in Europe, constantly adding new sources to its Tracking Center, and rating these sources according to its transparent rating system, so that users with access to its browser extension (a consumer product available to all for a monthly subscription fee) could make informed decision about which sources to trust, and which to be wary of when reading about the international competition. In December 2024, NewsGuard’s global team of misinformation analysts had identified 36 myths spreading across social media, as well as 83 news and information websites. In a non-crisis situation, NewsGuard’s main editorial promise is to rate all news and information sites that account for 95% of online engagement with news. However, for this specific line of work - just like we do for every crisis situation, and did before for the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war, as described above -, NewsGuard’s analysts went further, looking for any site spreading mis- and disinformation about the conflict in the languages we cover (English, French, Italian and German,) - even those responsible for very little online engagement - and making sure we rated them. We also made sure to track all sources that spread the myths we were uncovering, in order to cover more sources.

In 2024, NewsGuard’s analysts participated in 15 media literacy seminars and awareness raising events in France, Italy, Bulgaria, and Greece, and an additional 41 speaking engagements in Italy, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Romania, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Sweden. Most touched on all relevant crises, including the Paris Olympics. As stated above, throughout the year, NewsGuard’s analysts fed its browser extension with transparent analyses of Paris Olympics Misinformation sources. The analysts based their ratings - as they always do - on NewsGuard’s transparent, apolitical and independent process, applying equally our nine criteria to all sources.

Rise of AI-generated content and Foreign Influence of Large-Language Models - In 2024, NewsGuard’s analysts participated in 15 media literacy seminars and awareness raising events in France, Italy, Bulgaria, and Greece, and an additional 41 speaking engagements in Italy, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Romania, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, Sweden. Most touched on all relevant crises, including the rise of AI-generated content, and how large-language models can be weaponized by malign actors into spreading state-sponsored propaganda and false narratives. For example, in April 2024, we delivered a keynote at AI Week in Italy, where we discussed the risks posed by generative AI to the information ecosystem and explored how journalism can play a crucial role in mitigating these risks.

Empowering the Research Community

Outline approaches pertinent to this chapter, highlighting similarities/commonalities and differences with regular enforcement.

Russia-Ukraine crisis -In 2024, NewsGuard published four reports on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The first one, published in March 2024, and titled “150 State-Sponsored Articles Blaming the West for the Moscow Terrorist Attack,” documented how Russian, Chinese, and Iranian state media outlets all advanced false claims to blame the terror attack at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue on their Western adversaries, even after the militant jihadist Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility. In May 2024, a second report titled “The Fugitive Florida Deputy Sheriff Who Became A Kremlin Disinformation Impresario,” profiled John Mark Dougan, a former Florida deputy sheriff who fled to Moscow after being investigated for computer hacking and extortion, and now manages networks of websites masquerading as local news sites and spreading pro-Russian propaganda. In June 2024, a report titled “Top 10 Generative AI Models Mimic Russian Disinformation Claims A Third of the Time, Citing Moscow-Created Fake Local News Sites as Authoritative Sources,” tested the propensity of the top 10 AI chatbots to repeat known Russian disinformation narratives in the news. Finally, in July 2024, NewsGuard published a joint report with French AI start-up Bloom Social Analytics on the origins and dissemination pathways of the false narrative that dead NATO troops are being secretly repatriated from Ukraine. The reports detailed the research methodology, and were published on NewsGuard’s website, where they still are available.

2024 Paris Olympics - In 2024, NewsGuard sent regular briefings to its clients, including researchers, on the 2024 Paris Olympics, on top of its Tracking Center.

Rise of AI-generated content and Foreign Influence of Large-Language Models - In 2024, NewsGuard published seven Monthly AI Misinformation Monitors, including one (in October 2024) measuring the responses of the chatbots in French, on top of English. In its reports, NewsGuard described the research methodology of the analysis. All these reports were published on NewsGuard’s website, where they still are available.