Ethics Policy

This policy sets out the ethical standards every NewsFormal editor, contributor and tool is held to. It applies equally to human-written and AI-assisted briefs.

1. Accuracy and Impartiality

We build briefs from sources whose reliability we have assessed, and we cross-check figures, dates and quotations against the original reporting. Where a story is contested, we represent the competing positions fairly rather than picking a side.

2. Transparency

We name our sources as fully as ethical and legal limits allow, we disclose when AI has helped draft a brief, and we disclose how the site is funded. Potential conflicts of interest are declared, not hidden.

3. Financial Integrity

NewsFormal covers markets and companies, which brings specific obligations:

• Editors do not trade on information they have learned through their work before it is published.
• We do not accept payment, gifts or favours in exchange for coverage, and we do not publish paid-for stories presented as news.
• We do not provide personalised investment advice, and we never present a brief as a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any asset.
• We do not knowingly amplify rumours designed to move a price.

4. Confidentiality and Privacy

We respect the confidentiality of sources and the privacy of the people named in our briefs. We do not publish personal data beyond what is already in the public record and relevant to the story.

5. Corrections

We correct errors promptly and openly. How to report one and what happens next is described in our Correction Policy.

6. Human Rights and Fair Language

We respect human rights and individual freedoms in how we describe people, companies and countries. We avoid discriminatory language and stereotyping in both text and imagery.

7. Advertising and Content

There is a clear boundary between advertising and editorial content. Advertisers do not see, review or influence briefs before publication. Sponsored content or partnerships, if any, are clearly labelled. See Ownership, Funding and Advertising.

8. Responsible Use of AI

AI tools are used to draft and structure, never to invent. A brief must be traceable to identifiable reporting; a model's output is treated as a draft to be checked, not a source to be trusted. AI-assisted briefs are labelled on the page.

9. Reader Dialogue

We take readers' concerns about our ethics seriously and answer them. Write to [email protected]; legal and copyright matters go to [email protected].

10. Review

This policy is reviewed regularly and updated as our tools, coverage and the law change.