Detector Media becomes first Ukrainian outlet to obtain a JTI certification
On 31 May 2024, Ukrainian news organisation Detector Media was granted the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certification, an international standard of journalistic norms created by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Detector Media, both a media and an NGO, strives to improve the quality of Ukrainian news by fighting disinformation and propaganda, sharing a common goal with the JTI certification program.
Ukraine now boasts its first media outlet to be certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI). Following an external audit in the first half of 2024, Detector Media – a national outlet that covers the Ukrainian media landscape – obtained its JTI certification from the Ukrainian certification body Imperium Certific.
Detector Media joins a community of over 1,500 media around the world that are in the process of implementing the JTI standard within their newsrooms to improve their transparency and foster more accountable editorial operations.
“This first certification, an official guarantee that the certified media deserves our trust, is the fruit of nearly two years of relentless support for Ukrainian journalists and media. The JTI certification is also a strong signal for the international community that they must keep supporting Ukrainian media in the long term to ensure the right to have access to free and reliable information.
“Analysing and assessing the work of other media organisations is an integral part of our own organisation, which specialises in media and civil society. Checking if journalistic standards are upheld, fighting disinformation, scrutinising the media are just a few aspects of our daily work to improve the quality of the Ukrainian media landscape. But it’s also useful for us to have an external look at ourselves. That’s why we are delighted to be the first Ukrainian media to obtain the JTI certification.
Capacity building programs offered to Ukrainian media
The JTI was an important part of RSF’s 2023 roadmap for strengthening the free and reliable press in Ukraine. Around one hundred Ukrainian news organisations have committed to evaluating their newsrooms with this international standard. Fifty of these outlets have already published the transparency report required in the first stage of the process. News outlets with nationwide audiences, from public broadcasting company Suspilne to local audiences like the online media NikVesti in Mykolaïv, are preparing for the external audit, a precondition to obtaining the certification.
To boost the credibility of information from Ukrainian media – a crucial issue since the full-scale invasion launched by Russia on 24 February 2022 – RSF partnered with NewsGuard, an American news quality watchdog, and the Ukrainian Institute of Regional Press and Information (IRMI) to create an emergency protocol to deploy the JTI.
“For Imperium Certific, the JTI certification is an interesting and valuable moment of cooperation under the modern certification system. Transparency, ethics and independence are essential criteria nowadays, so we are proud to have the opportunity to develop these elements within the Ukrainian media landscape.
JTI’s media certification is growing
All over the world – from Senegal to Colombia to France – the JTI trains national accreditation bodies to correctly evaluate journalistic practices according to JTI’s standards, and ensures the rigour of independent audits.
