The standards that govern JList reporting: accuracy, sourcing, independence, disclosure and correction.
This policy sets out how JList reports, sources, corrects and discloses. It applies to every member of staff and to every freelance contributor we commission.
Accuracy comes before speed. We publish when we are confident a claim is right, not when we are first to have heard it. Every factual statement in a JList article should be traceable to a named source, a document, an on-the-record interview or a linked primary reference. Where a claim cannot be verified, we say so plainly in the text rather than implying certainty we do not have. Numbers, dates, names and titles are checked against the primary source, not against another publication's write-up of it.
We prefer named, on-the-record sources and we link to primary material wherever it exists — the filing, the transcript, the study, the statement. Anonymity is granted only when the information is materially in the public interest and the source faces a real risk in speaking openly; the decision rests with the editor, never with the writer alone. When we use anonymous sourcing we explain to readers why anonymity was necessary and what the source's vantage point is. We do not repeat single-source claims from other outlets as established fact; we attribute them.
Editorial decisions are made by editors. Advertisers, sponsors and commercial partners have no influence over what we cover, when we publish, or what a story concludes, and they receive no advance sight of coverage. Sponsored content is written separately from editorial, labelled at the top of the page, and never presented in a way designed to be mistaken for reporting.
Writers must disclose to the editor any financial holding, employment, family relationship or personal involvement that a reasonable reader would want to know about before reading their piece. Where a conflict is material and unavoidable, we disclose it in the article itself. Where it cannot be managed, the story is reassigned. Staff do not accept payment, gifts of value, or paid travel from the subjects of their reporting.
We do not publish AI-generated articles. AI tools may be used internally for transcription, for summarising documents we already hold, or as a research aid, but every published sentence is written and verified by a person, and a named human editor is accountable for it. We do not use AI-generated images to depict real events or real people.
When we get something wrong we fix it, mark it, and explain it. Substantive corrections carry a dated note at the foot of the article describing what was wrong and what changed. We do not silently edit away errors, and we do not remove articles to make a mistake disappear. Our full process is on the Corrections page.
Anyone facing significant criticism or an allegation in a JList story is given a fair opportunity to respond before publication, with enough detail about the substance to reply meaningfully and a reasonable deadline to do so. If they decline or do not reply, we say that in the piece.
We weigh public interest against intrusion. We take particular care with children, with victims of crime, with people in mental health crisis and with anyone who has become newsworthy involuntarily. We avoid publishing identifying details that serve curiosity rather than understanding.
Passing off someone else's work as our own is a dismissal matter. When we build on another outlet's reporting we credit and link to it in the body of the piece, not in a footnote.
JList is independently owned and funded through advertising and commercial partnerships. We are not owned or controlled by any political party, campaign group or the subjects of our coverage.