OpenWeb Becomes First Publisher Audience Development to Partner with the Global Disinformation Index

NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenWeb, the premium community engagement and audience development platform for publishers, today announced a first-of-its kind partnership with the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). The partnership will allow continuous access for OpenWeb to vet its existing and potential publisher partners against evaluations of journalistic integrity created and maintained by GDI. GDI is a trusted third-party that aims to disrupt, defund, and down-rank disinformation sites, and are mission-aligned with OpenWeb. Together, they hope to create a more civil and healthier web filled with strong, trusted publishers.

GDI works with governments, businesses, and civil society to set the standard for what qualifies as disinformation, and focuses on restoring trust in media publications around the world by providing real-time, automated risk ratings. The GDI's risk assessment is built off human-powered analyses, based on the international Journalism Trust Initiative's standard, alongside cutting-edge AI that catalogues millions of pages per week across hundreds of thousands of web domains.

"Our partnership with GDI makes me extremely proud. It reaffirms OpenWeb's commitment to creating safer and more engaging environments for readers and creating a more open, and healthier web," said Nadav Shoval, CEO and Co-founder of OpenWeb. "Through our collaboration, OpenWeb will have a better toolset to continue empowering publishers that align with our standards."

Prior to the partnership, OpenWeb eliminated 13 total publisher partner domains that did not meet the company's updated publisher and moderation standards. Through their work with GDI, OpenWeb has identified an additional 37 that the company will terminate relationships with by the end of August. OpenWeb will continue to regularly check current and potential partners fit with the criteria before continuing or beginning partnerships.

"Partnering with innovative companies like OpenWeb shows what's possible in the fight against disinformation. To stop the spread of disinformation online, we need business to take action to cut valuable revenue sources to disinformation peddlers," said Clare Melford, Co-founder and Executive Director, GDI. "Working with OpenWeb is a crucial step to reduce disinformation and its harms. Together, we will work to create a better experience for readers across the web." 

GDI currently covers 19 media markets and six languages globally, working with ad tech partners like Integral Ad Science (IAS), MediaMath, Peer39 and more.

To learn more, visit OpenWeb's Blog.

About OpenWeb
OpenWeb is on a mission to democratize and improve conversations online. The platform utilizes AI and machine learning to incentivize healthy dialogue, decrease toxicity, and create thriving, engaged communities. OpenWeb works with more than 1000 top-tier publishers and hosts 100 million active users each month.

Founded in 2012, OpenWeb has over 100 employees in New York City and Tel Aviv and is backed by world-class investors including Insight Partners, AltaIR Capital, ScaleUp, Norma Investments, Entrée Capital, and Index Ventures. To learn more about OpenWeb's quality conversation platform visit OpenWeb.com, or follow @OpenWebHQ on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

About Global Disinformation Index
The Global Disinformation Index is a not-for-profit whose vision is a world free of disinformation and its harms.  Our mission is to catalyse industry to eliminate the financial incentives of disinformation actors. GDI operates on the three principles of neutrality, independence and transparency. For more information, visit disinformationindex.org.

SOURCE OpenWeb