The Society of Professional Journalists has updated its Code of Ethics for the first time in 12 years. The code has long been a guiding document for professional journalists and news organizations. Editors chose to revise it this year to address both the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and the recent uptick in independent journalists who do not work for traditional news organizations.
A new line in the document does not mention AI by name but calls on journalists to “remember that speed, technology or medium do not excuse inaccuracy or unfairness.” Americans agree that accuracy is one of the most important functions of journalism: In a 2025 Center survey that asked respondents what the people they get news from should or shouldn’t do, the largest share of Americans said they definitely should “report the news accurately.”
SPJ’s leaders are hopeful that the code will apply broadly to those who report the news at a time when Americans do not always agree on what makes someone a journalist. Just under half of U.S. adults (46%) say their news mostly comes from people they consider to be journalists, and 8% say their news mostly comes from people they do not think are journalists. About a third (32%) say their news comes from roughly an even split of journalists and others.