Publisher Services

Ad Fontes Licensed Certification for Reliable Publishers

News organizations rated at the top of the media landscape for reliable information are eligible to use their rating for commercial purposes with an Ad Fontes Certified™ License.

To qualify, publications must have an existing score of 40 or higher (out of 64) on the reliability axis of our Media Bias Chart (for scores between 36 and 40, see our Reliable Analysis Certification). 

An Ad Fontes Certified License™ badge shows audiences and advertisers that the gold standard third-party rating organization, Ad Fontes Media, has independently verified that your organization consistently produces reliabile news and information.

Ad Fontes Certified High Reliability badge

The Ad Fontes Certified™ License includes:

  • Licensed use of your high Ad Fontes rating, including use of Ad Fontes Media's trademarks and logos, copyrighted Media Bias Chart, and the Ad Fontes Certified™ badge for 12 months on publisher’s website, print publications, and marketing materials.
  • Large-sample content ratings audit with internal reporting for your organization
  • Four appearances on our monthly static charts within the 12 months after certification.

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 content audits independently of licensing. Click here for more information.

Receive Ad Fontes Certification for Quality Journalism

For news organizations that reach the top of the media landscape for reliable journalism, we offer Ad Fontes Certification™.
To qualify, you’ll need a score of 40 or higher (out of 64) on the reliability axis of our chart (for scores between 36 and 40, see our Reliable Analysis Certification).
An Ad Fontes Certified™ badge shows audiences and advertisers that the gold standard third-party organization, Ad Fontes Media, has independently verified that your organization adheres to the highest standards of credibility, reliability, and transparency.

The Ad Fontes Certification™ includes:

  • Licensed use of the Ad Fontes Certified™ badge for 12 months on publisher’s website, print publications, and marketing materials.
  • Large-sample content ratings audit with internal reporting for your organization
  • Four appearances on our monthly static charts within the 12 months after certification.

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.

FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

Need more clarity? Read our FAQs.
Q: What does the Ad Fontes Certified License process entail?

Over an 2-4 week period, we will verify your reliability score by conducting ratings of a larger sample of your content based on your publication size, and you’ll be able to use your high-reliabilty rating for commercial purposes right away. Each quarter, we’ll review a new sample and provide you with updated ratings data.

Q: What if our score drops below 40 during the 12 month period after certification?

  • (More content might be rated as part of our standard operations)
  • You will no longer be able to use the 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.