Representation Policy: Use of the CredCo Name

Introduction and Overview

The Credibility Coalition (or “CredCo”) is privileged to bring together a diverse, global, multidisciplinary community of scholars, journalists, practitioners, technologists and others committed to thoughtful engagement with issues relating to the Internet, technology and misinformation. CredCo benefits enormously from the breadth and reach of its community, and members of that community benefit from their affiliations with CredCo and participation in its network.

At the same time, the Credibility Coalition has to exercise some control over the way it expresses its institutional priorities. This is due in part to an internal desire at CredCo to maintain clear, accurate, and consistent lines of communications with funders, collaborators, and the general public in order to maximize the impact of CredCo’s work.

In the interest of striking the appropriate balance, it is to the benefit of both the Credibility Coalition as an initiative and the CredCo community to establish protocols governing use of CredCo’s name in a variety of contexts. To that end, this policy sets forth parameters that govern use of the Credibility Coalition name by members of the CredCo community generally and specifically in connection with describing:

• the nature of the relationship between an individual and the Credibility Coalition (e.g., in a biography or personal statement, to the public or a member of the press, or in attribution on a paper or other publication);
• CredCo’s role in supporting an event, project, or other initiative; and
• CredCo's role in seeking grants or other fundraising activities.

The Credibility Coalition can also be referred to as “CredCo” on certain occasions. Feel free to use them interchangeably after the initiative is introduced with its formal name. Use your best judgment on usage, depending on the formality of the context in which the name is being used.

The Credibility Coalition is not a 501(c)3 itself, but rather an initiative that is supported by two separate 501(c)3s: Meedan and Hacks/Hackers. When appropriate, please make sure to credit the supporting organizations in correspondence with external parties.

Summary of Policies and Procedures

If you are thinking about using the Credibility Coalition name in some fashion, this policy sets out the following general guidelines:

• "I am speaking or writing publicly." Great! If you have signed-on to CredCo membership (affirming community guidelines, signed on through Slack account), you are welcome to describe your affiliation with CredCo as a member. Please let one of the leads know about the event (we may be able to actively promote it on social media), and also do your best to ensure that the audience understands that you do not speak for CredCo.
• "I am organizing a convening and would like to identify CredCo as a supporter." Excellent! Please come talk to us. If there is enough CredCo involvement and it is consistent with our mission, the answer is often "yes." And there are lots of ways that CredCo helps to support events that are consistent with our mission, all subject -- of course -- to bandwidth constraints.
• "I would like to publish something through CredCo or the MisinfoCon blog as a formal 'Credibility Coalition Publication.'" Please share the information with us and we will let you know if it is a good fit.
• "I have a great idea, and I would like to turn it into a Credibility Coalition project." We'd love to hear the idea! But there are some requirements that need to be met before something can be designated as a CredCo project. Please reach out to one of the leads to discuss anything first.

Credibility Coalition Community

For purposes of this policy, the CredCo community includes two categories of people:

• Credibility Coalition staff, interns and advisors (collectively "CredCo Staff"); and
• Credibility Coalition community members ("CredCo Community Members").

General

In communications with reporters, on their own blogs, in biographical information statements, at events, on publications, and the like, all CredCo Community Members are encouraged and welcome to truthfully and accurately describe the nature of their affiliations with and relationships to the Credibility Coalition. This should be accomplished by using the appropriate title relevant to the individual's affiliation. If one was previously a CredCo Community Member or Staff member, he or she should indicate the time period of his or her affiliation.

Because the Credibility Coalition Community is full of people with strong opinions, CredCo as an initiative does not generally take positions on issues. In order to respect the fact that CredCo Community Members often do not share the identical perspectives or views on issues, our members should not state, imply, or suggest that he or she is speaking, writing, or advocating on behalf of the Credibility Coalition unless in affiliation with a previously approved. In conversations with reporters and others, CredCo Community Members should be explicit that they are speaking on their own and not speaking on CredCo's behalf. This will help to ensure that quotations and perspectives are attributed to the relevant individual CredCo Community Member and not CredCo as a whole.

Feel free to reach out to Dwight or other CredCo leads with any questions or clarifications. We trust your good faith - and in that spirit of good faith, we will attempt to clarify existing parameters.

For more information on community guidelines, see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dyg0M8UQ9lCswKHl8yeO86haCR0YriuzK7N7tl-4Bog/edit?usp=sharing

Credibility Coalition Projects

As a general matter, a project or initiative may be deemed or described as a project of the Credibility Coalition (a "Project") only if the following criteria are met:

• the Project must be formally approved in writing by the Credibility Coalition staff;
• CredCo must designate a "principal staff member"; and
• CredCo must explicitly allocate funds and/or dedicate other support resources (including but not limited to technical, research, and/or legal resources) to the Project.

No project shall be deemed or described as a Credibility Coalition Project unless it satisfies all of these criteria. If a CredCo Community Member wishes to explore the possibility of launching a Project, he or she should communicate that interest to Credibility Coalition Program Lead Dwight Knell (dwight@meedan.com) to seek the necessary approvals.

Credibility Coalition Publications

We’re always looking for ways to create high quality work for public review/consumption/readership. As a general matter, any Credibility Coalition publication -- i.e., a publication released by CredCo under CredCo's name -- must meet the following criteria:

• the publication must concern to issues relevant to the Credibility Coalition;
• the publication must be authored or co-authored by at least one CredCo Community Member or other person with close institutional ties to the Credibility Coalition; and
• the Credibility Coalition must be involved in managing the release and initial announcement / distribution of the publication.

Once criteria are met, Credibility Coalition publications become available on our website. If a CredCo Community Member wishes to explore the possibility of releasing something as a publication of the Credibility Coalition, please reach out to Credibility Coalition Program Lead Dwight Knell (dwight@meedan.com) to seek the necessary approvals.

Use of the Credibility Coalition Logo

If you would like to use the Credibility Coalition logo in any capacity, including but not limited to projects, publications, events, and/or fundraising activities, you must seek consent from either Dwight Knell or other CredCo leads. is permitted on materials related directly to the Credibility Coalition projects, publications, events, and/or fundraising activities.

Our logo lockups never include qualifying language, like “supported by,” “by,” “from,” or “in partnership with.” The logo placement below the name shows that CredCo is supporting the project. Qualifying language for all projects should be used only in copy, when the name of the project is written out, not in the naming lockup.

We should not rush to strip the CredCo name off projects where others are involved simply because others are contributing. Part of what CredCo stands for is being open, for the benefit of all. We should work toward an understanding that if you see the CredCo logo on a project, it doesn’t preclude us working with others or inviting collaboration.

All publications accepted into the CredCo Publication Series (detailed in the “Credibility Coalition Publications” section) will have a cover sheet that includes the Credibility Coalition logo. Only CredCo reports (those produced under the auspices of an official CredCo project with significant PI and/or senior staff involvement) may additionally include the Credibility Coalition logo within the report itself, or on the cover. For all other reports in the Series, authors may accurately represent their affiliation with CredCo in text within the report.

Logos of funding institutions will not be included on the same page of a report as the Credibility Coalition logo. Funder logos may only be used on publications where they are clearly distinguished as funding support.

Report co-branding decisions (the use of the Credibility Coalition logo alongside that of a partner or co-authoring organization) will be made on case by case basis.

If a CredCo Community Member has questions about use of the Credibility Coalition logo, he or she should contact Credibility Coalition Program Lead Dwight Knell (dwight@meedan.com).

Events

As a general matter, the Credibility Coalition may be identified as the supporter of an event only if the following criteria are met:

• at least one CredCo Community Member must be substantively involved in the event -- e.g., as a speaker, panelist, organizer, etc.;
• the goals and mission of the event and of co-sponsors must substantively align with the goals and mission of CredCo; and
• CredCo staff or designees must be in a position to exercise substantive control over the organization and agenda of the event.

No event shall be deemed or described as a CredCo-supported event unless it satisfies all of these criteria. If a CredCo Community Member wishes to explore the possibility of CredCo's support of an event, he or she should communicate that interest to Program Lead Dwight Knell (dwight@meedan.com) to seek the necessary approvals.

Credibility Coalition as Institutional Collaborator on Outside Projects

The Credibility Coalition may, in some cases, be identified as an institutional collaborator, partner, affiliate, or other supporter of an initiative launched by a third-party -- i.e., an outside project that is not a Credibility Coalition Project (an "Outside Project"). As a general matter, an Outside Project that identifies CredCo in this manner must meet the following criteria:

• the Outside Project must concern issues relevant to the Credibility Coalition;
• the person or organization managing the Outside Project must have express consent of the Credibility Coalition to use CredCo's name and describe the institutional affiliation;
• the Outside Project must be managed by a person or organization with close institutional ties to the Credibility Coalition; and
• the Credibility Coalition must be involved in managing communications that identify the Credibility Coalition's role with respect to the Outside Project.

No CredCo Community Member shall authorize an Outside Project to identify the Credibility Coalition as an institutional collaborator, partner, affiliate, or other supporter unless the Outside Project satisfies all of these criteria. If a CredCo Community Member wishes to explore the possibility of authorizing an Outside Project to so identify the Credibility Coalition, he or she should communicate that interest to Credibility Coalition Program Lead Dwight Knell (dwight@meedan.com) to seek the necessary approvals.

Fundraising

The Credibility Coalition's Strategic Leads, Ed Bice (ed@meedan.com) and Jenny 8. Lee (jenny@hackshackers.com) are the primary points of contact and approval for fundraising efforts that relate to the work of CredCo. This includes solicitation of gifts or grants from companies, philanthropic organizations, and the like, and it covers all types of applications for funding (including more formal long-form applications that require detailed budgets and the like as well as shorter online applications that simply call for a brief statement of interest in a particular funding opportunity).

It is important that CredCo maintains control over and plays a coordinating function with respect to Credibility Coalition-related fundraising activities to avoid redundancy, miscommunications to potential funders, and inconsistencies across fundraising efforts. All Credibility Coalition requests for funding require approval from Ed Bice and Jenny 8. Lee.

CredCo Community Members may of course seek funding from third-parties for their work or other activities, provided that they are clear that they make such requests only on their individual capacities.

Special thanks to the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society for its assistance with framing this document.