The Internet Newspaper Ethics Commission and the Internet Election News Deliberation Commission said Thursday they will jointly launch the “2026 9th Nationwide Local Elections Fair Election Coverage Support Project” to help online news outlets provide fair and responsible coverage ahead of the June 3 vote.
Marking 90 days before election day, the two bodies began distributing the first installment of a “Fair Election Coverage Practice Guide,” providing training on fair election reporting for employees of outlets that have pledged to participate in the ethics panel, and opening a special online bulletin board for election-coverage consultations.
With more reporting expected on opinion polls, allegations and quoted claims during the campaign, the project aims to build a prevention-focused support system that can be used in newsrooms. It will center on standards for publishing election poll results and precautions in reporting, practical guidance for election newsgathering and writing, and considerations for coverage involving deepfakes and AI tools.
The two organizations plan to jointly distribute the guide four times, timed to D-90, D-60, D-40 and D-20. The ethics commission will produce and distribute practice-oriented materials by adding examples from actual deliberation decisions, while the election news deliberation commission will provide standards-focused content, including revised review rules, major types of violations and time-specific precautions.
Also Thursday, the ethics commission will hold an online video lecture for employees of participating outlets. The session will cover standards for reporting election polls, practical election reporting and major deliberation cases, focusing on points journalists should watch for in the reporting process.
To respond quickly to newsroom-level questions that arise during election coverage, the ethics commission opened a “Fair Election Coverage Consultation” bulletin board on its website, which the two bodies will jointly operate through election day.
The two organizations have continued joint efforts to foster a fair election reporting environment for online media since signing a cooperation agreement in 2018. The ethics commission said it has used accumulated deliberation cases and operating experience as the only self-regulatory body for internet newspapers to help check and prevent potential fairness and objectivity issues in election coverage.
They said they plan to strengthen cooperation through the joint project to raise the voluntary accountability of online media and help establish a culture of fair election reporting.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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