The newsroom
Editorial standards
Six rules the desk works to, written down so readers can hold us to them.
- 01
Reporting is reported
Every factual claim in a news story is checked with a person, a document or an observable record before it is published. We do not publish anonymous accusations, and we do not present rumor as reporting.
- 02
Quotes are not manufactured
Quotations are reproduced as they were said or written. Where a quote is edited for length, the edit is marked. No quote is invented, combined or paraphrased into quotation marks.
- 03
Opinion is labeled
Opinion pieces carry an Opinion flag, an author and, in the case of unsigned editorials, the board's name. They are edited separately from news and never presented as reporting.
- 04
Corrections are visible
When we get something wrong we fix it and say so, on the story itself and in the corrections log. Corrections are never quietly deleted; the corrected language and the date of the correction both stay on the page.
- 05
Sources are protected
Tips are stored privately and read by editors only. We do not publish a tip, or identify a person who sent one, without independent reporting and, where relevant, that person's consent.
- 06
Photography is attributed
Every image carries a caption, a credit and a description for screen readers. Images that are illustrations rather than photographs are labeled as illustrations.