We have designed a neutral, independent and transparent index to assess news websites on their risk of carrying disinformation.

The core output of the Disinformation Index is our Dynamic Exclusion List (DEL) of global news publications rated high risk for disinformation. The DEL contains the worst offending websites and apps across multiple countries and languages and is continually updated to capture new disinformation sources and narratives. Ad tech companies and platforms can license GDI data to defund and downrank these worst offenders, thus disrupting the ad-funded disinformation business model. Disinformation has become a business. Today’s internet business models reward engagement above all else. These models monetise attention without considering the quality of the content garnering that attention, or the harm that may result. There is a robust and growing community of industry, policy, and civil society advocates pressing for reform of this ecosystem, they all need data to inform their actions. The Global Disinformation Index was born out of this need for data, specifically the need for transparent, independent neutral disinformation risk ratings across the open web. GDI’s founders recognized early on that in order to disrupt the business model of disinformation, commercial companies, researchers and policymakers alike need access to independent ratings of news sites’ disinformation risk. These risk ratings are then used by advertising technology companies to ensure advertisers money and brands do not end up supporting high risk websites. Stakeholders also need strong and consistent leadership to help navigate the ever changing disinformation landscape. Thus, GDI was established in 2018 as a not-for-profit entity built on the three pillars of neutrality, independence and transparency.