Against the backdrop of global political developments, leading international and independent news agencies are establishing the Democracy News Alliance (DNA), a new information service for the systematic monitoring of democratic processes. This new service is tailored to the specific information needs of international organisations, NGOs, think tanks, foundations, government agencies, associations, and businesses. It will help decision-makers identify and analyse political processes and societal changes at an early stage.
Who’s involved: The German Press Agency (dpa) is collaborating with Agence France-Presse (AFP, France), Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA, Italy), The Canadian Press (CP, Canada), and PA Media (UK) in the Democracy News Alliance. The Associated Press (AP, USA) is providing content support for the project. The initial offering is an English-language news service with current reports and in-depth analyses, available at democracy-news.org. This service is complemented by a regular newsletter with curated news.
They say: “The Democracy News Alliance fills a significant gap with its offering,” says Peter Kropsch, CEO of dpa. “This gap exists between, on the one hand, the minute-by-minute media publications that rapidly change their topics, and, on the other hand, the longer publication cycles in which researchers release new findings on politics, society, and democracy. DNA will report on developments concerning important issues such as freedom of expression and of the press, fairness of elections, gender equality, or political corruption even when a country is not currently in the spotlight of current news coverage.”
Also …They also launched the DNA Academy. Experienced trainers from the participating news agencies will jointly share their extensive knowledge on topics such as the development and impact of disinformation campaigns, verification methods and the use of fact-checking, as well as journalistic work under difficult conditions, for example in autocratically governed countries.