Editorial Standards & Ethics
What these standards are for
IAQABA publishes across ten sections for readers in many countries, and the only thing that makes that coherent is a single set of rules applied everywhere. A transfer story, a court ruling, a drug trial, a game review and a set of quarterly results are checked, written, labelled and corrected the same way. This page sets out those rules. They are not aspirations; they are the conditions under which a story is allowed to run.
Accuracy first, speed second
Every factual claim in a story must be traceable to a source we can name to ourselves, even where we cannot name it to the reader. Numbers carry their base, their period and their currency. Names, titles and spellings are checked against an authoritative record. A claim we could not confirm is either left out or reported as unconfirmed, with that word in the sentence. Being second with a correct figure is always preferred to being first with a doubtful one; the fact-checking policy describes how this is done in practice.
Independence from everyone we cover
No government, party, company, league, club, studio, manufacturer, publisher, agency or individual we write about has any influence over what we publish. We do not show stories to subjects before they run, except to put specific claims to them for response. We do not accept payment, gifts, hospitality, travel, tickets, review units or access in return for coverage, and we do not accept them on terms we could not disclose to readers. The ownership and funding page explains where the money comes from and why it does not reach the newsroom.
Conflicts of interest
Editors and contributors must declare any financial interest, family connection, prior employment or personal relationship that touches a story before working on it, and are moved off the story where the conflict is real. Nobody may write about a company, fund or asset they hold a position in. Nobody may trade on information gathered for a story before it is published. Where a conflict is minor but relevant, the story discloses it in the text.
News, analysis and opinion
News reports state what happened and attribute every claim. Analysis explains what it means and is grounded in reporting, not sentiment. Opinion argues a case, carries the writer’s name, and is labelled as opinion where it appears and in its headline. We do not run opinion in the voice of the site, and we do not let a news headline take a side its story does not support. The headline is part of the report and is held to the same standard as the body.
Sources and attribution
We prefer named sources, primary documents and on-the-record statements. We use anonymous sources only when the information is important, cannot be obtained another way, and the source would face real harm from being named. When we do, the story says as much as it can about the source’s position and why they cannot be named, and at least one editor knows who they are. We never publish anonymous accusations against private individuals. We do not pay for information.
Material from other publications is used only as a lead to primary sources, and where a fact rests on a document or record, we describe it clearly enough that a reader can find it.
Fairness and the right to respond
Anyone who is the subject of a critical claim is given a genuine chance to respond before publication, with enough detail to know what is being said and enough time to answer. Their response is reported fairly, not reduced to a dismissive line. If they do not respond, the story says they were asked. If they respond after publication, the story is updated. Where a story turns out to have been unfair, we say so under the corrections policy.
Privacy and harm
We report on public figures in their public roles without hesitation. We are far more careful with private individuals, with children, with victims of crime and disaster, and with people whose only connection to a story is misfortune. We do not publish home addresses, personal contact details, medical information or images of private people without a public-interest reason that we could defend in public. We do not identify children in connection with crime, and we do not publish material that puts a person at risk for the sake of a detail.
Images and captions
A photograph must show what its caption says it shows. File photographs, supplied images and illustrations are labelled as such. We do not alter the content of a news photograph beyond ordinary cropping, colour and exposure adjustments, and we do not stage news images. Screenshots and product images are used to identify the thing reported on, with credits intact. Images of violence, injury or death are used only where the story cannot be told without them and are never used for their shock value.
Embargoes, briefings and access
We accept embargoes when the material justifies them and we honour the ones we accept. An embargo buys timing; it does not buy a favourable story or a promise not to seek other views. We decline briefings, previews and access offered on conditions we could not describe to readers. Where a story is based on material provided under embargo or in a controlled setting, the story says so.
Language and audience
We write for a reader who may be anywhere and who does not follow the subject daily. Context is in the story, jargon is explained or avoided, and figures are given in a form the reader can use. We do not assume the reader’s nationality, faith, politics or team. We do not use slurs, we do not describe people by characteristics irrelevant to the story, and we do not use language that treats any country as the default centre of events.
Accountability
These standards are enforced by the editors, who are responsible for every story that runs. Readers who believe a story has broken one of them should write to support@iaqaba.com and say which rule and how. Complaints are answered in writing. This page is revised when a case shows that a rule was unclear or missing, and the revision is noted.
