New “Trust Scores” Could Impact Freelance Journalists’ Reputation
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One of the biggest shifts introduced by Objection is its “Honor Index,” a system that scores journalists based on accuracy and evidence quality. For freelancers, that could be a double-edged sword.
On one hand, strong reporting backed by solid documentation could boost credibility and help freelancers stand out in a crowded market. On the other hand, relying on anonymous sources — something many freelancers do for investigative work — may lower those scores. That creates a new pressure: balancing ethical journalism practices with platforms that favor hard, verifiable data over protected sources.