L45 Response Accepted in Part AI-assessed

Source Transparency

Recommendation

A new regulatory body should consider encouraging the press to be as transparent as possible in relation to the sources used for stories, including providing any information that would help readers to assess the reliability of information from a source and providing easy access, such as web links, to publicly available sources of information such as scientific studies or poll results. This should include putting the names of photographers alongside images. This is not in any way intended to undermine the existing provisions on protecting journalists' sources, only to encourage transparency where it is both possible and appropriate to do so.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the available evidence, IPSO has not systematically addressed the recommendation for encouraging greater source transparency, such as requiring the naming of photographers alongside images or providing web links to publicly available sources. According to the available evidence, there is no regulatory requirement or consistent practice for publishers to implement these measures.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part UK Government
29 Nov 2012

The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012 that he accepted "the principles that Lord Justice Leveson has laid out" for independent self-regulation, including "an independent board, a standards code, an arbitration service and the power to demand up-front, prominent apologies and impose million-pound fines." However, he rejected statutory underpinning, expressing "serious concerns and misgivings" about crossing "the Rubicon of writing elements of press regulation into the law of the land." The Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press was granted on 30 October 2013, establishing the Press Recognition Panel as the recognition body. IPSO was established in September 2014 but has not sought Royal Charter recognition. IMPRESS was recognised by the PRP in October 2016. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report

Read Full Response
Note: PM David Cameron responded to all 92 recommendations with a single statement accepting them "in principle" or "in part". No per-recommendation response was published.
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Insufficient Progress
27 Feb 2025
IPSO Other

Source transparency has not been systematically addressed by IPSO. While some publishers have improved online source linking, there is no regulatory requirement or consistent practice of naming photographers alongside images or providing web links to sources.

View detailed findings

No systematic requirement for source transparency has been introduced by the regulator.

IPSO Editors' Code View Source
Source
Inquiry Leveson Inquiry
Report An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press 29 Nov 2012
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Press Primary
Themes & Tags
Weak Government Accountability & Scrutiny Self-Regulation Transparency Sources Standards
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago