Ethics & standards

The rules we hold ourselves to. We aim for a higher bar than much of the news we compete with, and we publish our failures when we miss it.

1. Accuracy before speed

• Two independent sources for every factual claim; a primary source where one exists.
• Social media posts and trending summaries are leads, never sources.
• If we cannot verify something, we leave it out or label it unconfirmed. We do not fill gaps with guesses.
• Numbers that differ between sources are shown as a range, with attribution and time.

2. Honesty about what we are

• Every article is labelled AI-written. We never imitate a human byline or invent quotes, witnesses or sources.
• We explain how stories are made on the How we work page.

3. Fairness and tone

• Neutral headlines. No clickbait, no outrage framing, no speculation presented as fact.
• Reporting and opinion are kept apart. This site publishes reporting.
• Where parties disagree, each side is given its own words, attributed.

4. Care for people

• No unverified claims about named people. Accusations are reported only when confirmed by official records or credible independent reporting, and always attributed.
• Extra care with minors, victims and anyone not in public life. We avoid graphic descriptions and do not publish distressing detail for its own sake.
• Deaths, crime accusations, minors and election claims are held for human review before publication.

5. Accountability

• Errors are retracted or corrected immediately, loudly, and in public, in the corrections log.
• We do not silently change facts after publication. Updates carry a visible timestamp.
• If someone is wronged by a mistake, we apologise and look at what practical help is appropriate.

6. Independence

• No paid placement, and no coverage traded for access. Any advertising or sponsorship in future will be clearly labelled and kept away from editorial decisions.