Become a Certified Publisher and Display the Seal

The Certified Accountable Press Seal is a symbol of quality and accountability.

Certification tells readers, search engines and news aggregators that:

Your contact information has been authenticated by our state of the art system.
Any media or business licenses, accreditations or awards you have earned are documented.
You have completed the Accountable Press course on original reporting, accountability, proper attribution, and responsible journalism.
That you are accountable for what you publish.

Why Accountable Press?

You are a legitimate news publisher in a sea of illegitimate, copy and paste, rewriting, fake, news sites with phony contact information, who pull readers away from your site – often using your own news reporting.

As a Certified Accountable Press publisher, your readers, search engines, and news aggregators will know instantly that your site is accountable and can be considered more trustworthy and responsible than uncertified sites.

Become A Certified Accountable Press Member

Requirements:

Register your site with Accountable Press.
Include your publication’s physical address on your site’s contact page. The contact page must be easily accessible throughout your site.
After registering, Accountable Press will authenticate your physical address:
- The fastest way to authenticate your address is to upload supporting documents to Accountable Press. Supporting documents may include government-issued licenses, credit card statements, or utility bills, that display your publication’s address. You may mark out any confidential information, but make no other alterations. All documentation is closely examined using combined human and artificial intelligence before Certification. Only one document clearly proving your address is required at this time.
- If you are unable to provide documentation, we can send you a PIN by mail that can be entered into your account to confirm your address.
Complete our basic course on original reporting, accountability, proper attribution, and responsible journalism. The course takes approximately 30 minutes.

Accountable Press Publishers must also commit to the following standards:

Strive to publish honest, accurate, reporting.
Be responsible and accountable for what they publish.
Maintain accurate physical and online contact information.
Stand together against plagiarism and copyright infringement.

Publishers who do not maintain accurate physical and online contact information, or who plagiarize and/or flagrantly infringe on the copyrights of others, may be decertified without recourse or reimbursement.

Once Certified, Accountable Press Publishers Receive:

The Certified Accountable Press Seal. The seal can be proudly displayed on your site to show your readers that you are an authenticated Certified Accountable Press publisher.
A profile page on Accountable.Press with a link to your site. The profile page includes schema that identifies your site as a News Media Organization and includes your verified address and additional information about your site.
A snippet of code that search engines and news aggregators can use to confirm your status as an authenticated Certified Accountable Press publisher.
Ongoing education and updates on original reporting, accountability, proper attribution, and responsible journalism.

For WordPress sites, a plugin is available that applies the code snippet and Seal to your site (use of the Seal is optional).

The cost of registering is ~~$249 per year~~ – Limited Time Special Phase 2 Pricing – Sign up now and you will receive a 50% discount immediately and forever. The cost will only be $124/year for as long as your publication remains Certified. Click on the ‘Register Your Site Now’ link below for more information.

Through a combination of authentication, education, outreach, and advocacy, Accountable Press raises the profile of our members and promotes responsible journalism through accountability.