Sourcing & verification

News stories are sourced from named, on-the-record interlocutors wherever possible. Anonymous sourcing is permitted only when a story is in the public interest, when the source has direct knowledge, when the reporter has corroborated the information against at least one independent source, and when the reasons for anonymity are explained in the story.

Editing & review

Every news article is read by a section editor and a copy editor before publication. Articles touching on legal, medical, scientific or financial subjects are additionally reviewed by a relevant specialist editor. The reviewing editor is named on the article where applicable.

Separation of news and opinion

News reporting and editorial opinion are produced by separate staff under separate editors. Opinion pieces are clearly labelled in the section header and in the URL.

Use of artificial intelligence

We do not publish AI-generated text as news. Editorial use of generative AI is limited to internal tasks (e.g. transcription, translation drafts, headline suggestions) and is reviewed by a human editor before any output reaches the page.

Plagiarism & attribution

Plagiarism is grounds for dismissal. Reporting that builds on the work of other outlets is credited explicitly in the body of the story.

Independence

Reporters and editors do not accept gifts or paid travel from the subjects of their coverage. Conflicts of interest are disclosed on a public register maintained by the Standards desk.

See also our Ethics Policy and Corrections Policy.