Guide

The Creator Journalism Trust and Credibility Toolkit: A guide for funders

October 28, 2025

A free resource from The Lenfest Institute’s Knight Communities Network, Project C, and Trusting News

October 28, 2025

As funders look to strengthen their local information ecosystems, creator journalists have become an essential component, serving and reaching audiences that traditional news outlets often miss.

But just as it’s becoming increasingly challenging for the public to decipher what, and who, is credible online, it can also be challenging for funders to identify which online creators are looking to inform their communities with accurate information and which are creating or amplifying hidden agendas or even dis- and misinformation.

While there are many credible creator journalists worth financially backing and partnering with, there are also plenty of online personalities whose goals and coverage will be misaligned with your organization’s priorities and mission. The challenge lies in identifying creators working to inform their communities responsibly.

The Creator Journalism Trust and Credibility Toolkit was created by The Lenfest Institute’s Knight Communities Network, Project C, and Trusting News to help local news funders. It provides ethical frameworks and hands-on tools you can use to not only identify local creator journalists but also assess whether a creator journalist is a good fit for funding and partnership opportunities.

Among the resources is the Creator Journalism Trust Framework, a visual guide that employs a green/yellow/red framework to help you quickly assess trust and credibility.

Creator Journalism Trust Framework

For questions about the Toolkit, please reach out to Project C and Trusting News.

Check out the full Toolkit

Introduction: How to find — and fund — creator journalists in your community

An overview of the role creator journalists are playing in their media ecosystems and how funders can begin exploring partnerships with them.

Identifying credible local journalism creators

Prompts, tools, and checklists for funders looking to map the journalism creators in their region and evaluate whether a creator is practicing journalism responsibly.

Connecting with local creator-model journalists

A guide for funders looking to contact local creators to inquire about partnership opportunities, along with sample messages and a checklist for crafting written agreements.

An ethics checklist for creator journalists

How creator-model journalists can show to audiences — and funders — that their reporting is trustworthy, along with real-world examples.

The Creator Journalism Trust Framework: A visual checklist to help funders evaluate trust and credibility.
A template for building your own local creator journalist index.
An ethics checklist for funders to assess whether a creator is a good fit for a funding opportunity.
Key areas funders should consider when creating creator partnership agreements.

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