Ad Fontes Analysis Certification™

Ad Fontes Analysis Certification™

We offer Ad Fontes Reliable Analysis Certification™ for news organizations that have a score between 36 and 40 (out of 64) on the reliability axis of our chart. In addition, they must have fewer than 3% of their rated articles under 24 for reliability. Organizations with more than 3% of their articles under 24 have a high variation in reliability and are therefore not reliable. Ad Fontes Media also reserves the right to require an organization to issue a correction for misleading (8-16) or inaccurate articles (0-8) before confirming certification.

The Ad Fontes Reliable Analysis Certification™ includes:

  • Licensed use of the Ad Fontes Reliable Analysis Certified™ badge for 12 months on publisher’s website, print publications, and marketing materials.
  • Content ratings audit to verify your placement on the chart.
  • Four appearances on our monthly static charts within the 12 months after certification.
Ad Fontes Certified Reliable Analysis badge

Pricing is based on publisher size.

All stakeholders in Ad Fontes Media have a right to expect that we maintain the highest standards of fairness and objectivity in rating publishers, especially since we provide these certifications and audits as a paid service to publishers. To understand how we maintain these standards and mitigate potential conflicts of interest, please see our Stakeholders Statement.
We also offer individual content audits without a certification badge. Click here for more information.

FAQs

An Ad Fontes Reliable Analysis Certified™ badge shows audiences and advertisers that the gold standard third-party organization, Ad Fontes Media, has independently verified that your organization adheres to high standards of credibility, reliability, and transparency in your analysis. Read more about our methodology.

Q: What is a content ratings audit?

A: Most news sources that initially appear on the Media Bias Chart are placed based on our standard rating, which requires a minimum representative sample of web articles or program episodes. For sources already on the chart, we will rate a larger sample, based on your size, to ensure the most accurate placement of your overall score.

Q: What if our score drops below 36 due to the audit?

A. You cannot use the Reliable Analysis badge, but you’ll be given a detailed report on why the score dropped.

Q: What if our score drops below 36 during the 12 month period after certification?

A. (More content might be rated as part of our standard operations)
You will no longer be able to use the Reliable Analysis badge, but you’ll be given a detailed report on why the score dropped.

Q: How are sources chosen for static charts?

A. Static charts mostly display popular sources which are occasionally rotated in and out to keep areas of the chart varied over time. Some areas have more sources than others and therefore see more turnover while other areas may show the same source continually simply because no other source is in that area. New sources are included each month to keep the chart fresh.

Q: Can we choose which months our source appears on a static chart?

A. We will make every effort to grant such requests.

Q: Does Ad Fontes Certification include data on other sources?

A. No, that is a separate product. Find out more here.