Our Mission

Slingshot News is committed to delivering accurate, fair, and independent journalism that serves the public interest. These ethics guidelines govern everything we publish and reflect our promise to the communities we cover.

Accuracy & Verification

We do not publish information we cannot verify. Every factual claim must be supported by at least one reliable source, and significant claims require corroboration from multiple independent sources.

Our standards require:

• Verifying all facts before publication, including names, titles, dates, and figures
• Clearly distinguishing between confirmed facts, developing information, and opinion
• Correcting errors promptly and transparently — corrections are published with the same prominence as the original error
• Never altering quotes to change their meaning; minor grammatical corrections are noted
• Providing context so facts are not misleading even when technically accurate

Independence & Conflicts of Interest

Slingshot News operates independently. Our editorial decisions are made solely on the basis of newsworthiness and public interest — never to satisfy advertisers, sponsors, or sources.

Staff are required to:

• Disclose any personal, financial, or professional relationship with subjects they cover
• Recuse themselves from stories where a conflict of interest exists or could reasonably be perceived
• Decline gifts, free travel, or other benefits from sources, subjects, or potential subjects
• Avoid holding elected office or engaging in partisan political activity while employed
• Disclose outside employment or financial holdings that may relate to their coverage areas

Fairness & Impartiality

We cover all subjects — individuals, institutions, and communities — with the same rigor and fairness. We do not advocate for political parties, candidates, or ideologies in our news coverage.

In practice, this means:

• Seeking comment from all parties named or implicated in a story before publication
• Representing a range of perspectives on contested issues
• Applying the same scrutiny to all public figures regardless of political affiliation
• Not allowing the race, gender, religion, nationality, or socioeconomic status of a subject to affect how we cover them
• Clearly labeling opinion, analysis, and commentary so it is not confused with news reporting

Sources & Confidentiality

We rely on named, on-the-record sources whenever possible. Anonymous sourcing is used only when a source faces genuine risk of harm and the information is of significant public interest.

When we grant anonymity:

• Editors must approve the use of anonymous sources before publication
• We explain to readers why anonymity was granted
• We independently verify what anonymous sources tell us where possible
• We do not use anonymous sources to publish unverified attacks on named individuals

We protect the identities of confidential sources. Staff will not disclose source identities even under pressure — except where required by law and following legal review.

Images, Video & Photo Credits

Visual journalism carries the same ethical obligations as written reporting. We do not alter images in ways that misrepresent reality, and we credit all photographers, agencies, and rights holders.

Our photo standards:

• All images must be accurately captioned with the subject, location, date, and credit
• Photos may not be digitally manipulated to change their meaning or misrepresent events
• Staged or illustrative photos must be clearly labeled as such
• We obtain proper rights and licenses for all images we publish
• Archival photos used in current stories must be clearly dated to avoid confusion

Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technology

Slingshot News may use AI tools to assist in research, translation, transcription, and other editorial support tasks. We do not publish AI-generated content as original journalism without human review, editing, and verification.

Our AI standards:

• AI tools are aids — all final editorial judgments are made by human journalists and editors
• AI-generated text may not be published without substantial human review and verification
• We disclose when AI tools have played a significant role in a story’s production
• We do not use AI-generated images to illustrate real news events without clear disclosure

Corrections & Accountability

We take full responsibility for our mistakes. We correct them quickly, clearly, and without minimizing their significance.

• Corrections are published on the original story and noted prominently
• We do not delete published stories to avoid accountability — corrections are appended
• Significant errors may warrant a separate correction story
• Readers can report errors by contacting our editorial team directly

Slingshot News will not remove published stories at the request of subjects except in extraordinary circumstances involving safety, legal necessity, or severe factual error. Such decisions require editor approval.

Privacy & Harm Minimization

We balance the public’s right to know against the privacy and dignity of individuals — especially those who are not public figures and have not sought public attention.

We take particular care with:

• Victims of crime, trauma, or tragedy — we do not identify victims without consent unless they are central to a matter of significant public interest
• Minors — we do not identify juveniles involved in legal matters without editorial approval
• Private individuals who become newsworthy involuntarily
• Mental health and suicide — we follow established reporting guidelines to avoid harm
• Information that could endanger the safety of individuals or communities

Advertising & Sponsored Content

Advertising and commercial relationships do not influence our editorial decisions. Sponsored content is clearly labeled and separated from editorial content.

• Advertisers have no say in story selection, framing, or publication decisions
• Sponsored content and native advertising are labeled clearly and prominently
• Staff do not produce editorial content about direct advertisers without editor review
• Revenue relationships are disclosed where relevant to editorial content

Raising Concerns & Feedback

We welcome feedback from readers, sources, and the communities we cover. If you believe we have made an error, acted unfairly, or violated these standards, please contact our editorial team.

Internal ethics concerns may also be raised with any senior editor or the editor-in-chief. Staff will not face retaliation for raising good-faith ethics concerns.