Code of Ethics

Telling the truth

• We should be honest, accurate, truthful and fair. We should not distort or fabricate facts, imagery, sound or data.

• We should provide accurate context for all reporting.

• We should seek out diverse voices that can contribute important perspectives on the subject we're writing.

• We should ensure that sources are reliable. To the maximum extent possible, we should make clear to our audience who and what our sources are, what motivations our sources may have and any conditions people have set for giving us information. When unsure of information, we should leave it out or make clear it has not been corroborated.

• We should correct errors quickly, completely and visibly. We should make it easy for our audience to bring errors to our attention.

• If a report includes criticism of people or organizations, we should make a reasonable effort to reach out and give them the opportunity to respond.

• We should clearly distinguish fact from opinion in all content.

Conflicts of interest

• We should avoid any conflict of interest that undermines our ability to report fairly. We should disclose to our audience any unavoidable conflicts or other situational factors that may validly affect our judgment of our credibility.

• We should not allow people to make us dishonestly skew our reporting. We should not offer to skew your reporting under any circumstances.

• We should not allow the interests of advertisers or others funding our work to affect the integrity of our journalism.

Community

• We respect our audience and those we write about. We consider how our work and its permanence may affect the subjects of our reporting, our community and ­since the Internet knows no boundaries: the larger world.

Professional Conduct

• We don’t plagiarize or violate copyrights.

• We keep promises to sources, readers and the community.

Accuracy

• We should not publish rumors or other information we have not verified.

• If we are unsure of the accuracy of information, we should cite our sources, word stories carefully to avoid spreading false rumors, acknowledge what we don’t know and ask the community’s help in confirming or correcting our information.

Plagiarism and Attribution

• We must always attribute all sources by name and, if the source is digital, by linking to the original source.

• When we are using someone else’s exact words, we should use quotation marks and attribution.