Editorial Policy

This page provides transparent information about Privacy Guides, its editorial process, and how Privacy Guides creates trustworthy news, articles, and reviews.

Moreover, it is a part of Privacy Guides' commitment to The Trust Project, "an international consortium of news organizations implementing transparency standards and working with technology platforms to affirm and amplify journalism’s commitment to transparency, accuracy, inclusion and fairness so that the public can make informed news choices." Privacy Guides is not currently a news partner of the program, but wholeheartedly supports its mission and values.

Coverage Priorities¶

First and foremost, Privacy Guides is committed to publishing content related to the personal privacy and cybersecurity industry and communities. We firmly believe that privacy is a human right, which should not be intruded upon by any corporation, government, or other entity.

To further our beliefs, Privacy Guides strives to create coverage that promotes the ideals of personal privacy and security in online spaces, encourages companies to engage in privacy-friendly behavior, and holds privacy and security invasive entities accountable for their actions.

Our Philosophy¶

Privacy Guides strongly believes in independent information published by independent people with varying points of view. As an organization, we are firm proponents of freedom of speech, expression, and the press. Privacy Guides contributors are free to share their own opinions, even when they are controversial. Every opinion article is clearly labeled as such at the beginning of the news content.

Ethics Policy¶

Privacy Guides' ethical code is based in our willingness to be accurate, fair, and complete, and for all of our writers to act with honesty, transparency, and independence.

Truth and Accuracy¶

Privacy Guides contributors are expected to be as accurate as possible. Getting facts from reliable sources is the defining principle of journalism. Privacy Guides always strives to provide all the relevant facts available, ensure those facts have been verified, and generally hold ourselves to the highest standards of accuracy and truth. When we are unable to corroborate certain information, Privacy Guides always makes that clear to readers.

Independence¶

Privacy Guides contributors must always be independent voices in the privacy community. Privacy Guides does not act on behalf of special interests, whether corporate, political, or cultural, and whether formally or informally. Independent fact-checking is always involved in the publication process.

Fairness and Impartiality¶

Many stories have at least two sides. While we are not obligated to present every viewpoint in every article we publish, our stories are balanced and add context. Our impertial reporting is a significant part of why our community has trust and confidence in our work.

Humanity¶

Privacy Guides contributors do no harm. We are aware of the impact of our words on the lives of others. Private persons have privacy rights that must be balanced against the public interest in reporting information about them. Our pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance, and we will always treat the subject of any story with respect.

Accountability¶

As professional and responsible journalists, we will always hold ourselves accountable for our work. Corrections are published when errors are discovered, and we always listen to the concerns of our audience.

Corrections Policy¶

Privacy Guides believes in transparency and honesty. Therefore, we will correct mistakes promptly and ensure our readers are notified. In the online world of journalism, completeness and freshness of content are huge values, and we believe accuracy is equally essential. We will ensure expediency when making corrections as needed.

When an error is detected in an article, Privacy Guides will immediately work to find the correct information, clearly display the correction within the affected article, and include the following:

The correct information.
What was originally published that was incorrect.
The severity of the error.
The date when the change took place.

When errors cannot be amended within the body of an article's content, corrections are displayed in the last paragraph of the content. Rather than remove completely the content containing a mistake, we provide clarification and admittance of our mistakes to preserve transparency.

Verification & Fact-Checking¶

Privacy Guides prides itself on the validity of its content, and therefore does whatever it can to ensure that the information presented by its contributors is accurate. As a well-known global publication, Privacy Guides understands the importance of approaching claims with skepticism, thinking critically, and upholding accuracy in whatever way possible.

Privacy Guides encourages its writers to keep the following considerations in mind before publishing content:

Always credit, acknowledge, and verify the source(s) of your information.
Consider whether you know enough about the information to qualify as a trustable source yourself.
Think critically when addressing claims.
Never make assumptions.

We trust the integrity of our contributors and the accuracy of content published on this website. In the case that a mistake is made, we understand the importance of admitting to them and working diligently to provide the correct information. We always encourage our readers, sources, and other contributors to provide us with feedback on any of our content.

Unnamed Sources Policy¶

Privacy Guides will only used unnamed sources in our news reporting if:

The material is informative, not opinion or speculation.
The material is vital to the news report.
The source is reliable, and in a position to have accurate information.
The information provided is not available except under conditions of anonymity imposed by the source.

Privacy Guides will always identify sources whenever possible. Our readership is entitled to as much information as possible in order to judge the reliability of our sources themselves.: Privacy Guides' credibility is our most important asset. If our readers don't have faith that the stories they are reading here are accurate and fair, or if they suspect content within the stories we publish is fabricated, then we would lose that credibility. For our contributors to protect their own credibility, they must use every available avenue to confirm and attribute information before relying on unnamed sources. If the only way to publish a story is to use unnamed sources, our contributors owe it to our readership to identify the sources as clearly as possible without exposing the identity of the individual granted anonymity.
Our contributors should always question the motives behind a source requesting anonymity.: Always keep your promises, but clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information beforehand. You must not take information from an anonymous support without the approval of our editorial team. We only use unnamed sources to tell important stories that would otherwise go unreported.

The decision to use an unnamed source is not a decision made solely by the writer. To use an unnamed source, a contributor must have the written consent of a member of our editorial team: Daniel, Freddy, Jonah, or Niek.

Our editorial team will grant consent to the use of unnamed sources if the source is considered to be accurate and reliable, and if there is substantial justification for using the source's information without attribution. Privacy Guides should never be in the position of having to verify any factors within this policy after a story has been published.

Actionable Feedback¶

Privacy Guides is committed to engaging with our readers and taking action based on their suggestions, complaints, and other feedback.

Readers may help us develop an individual story or line of coverage, answer questions that a story may raise, identify related or under-covered issues, and teach us about new and diverse sources, experts, and perspectives. We believe that news organizations have a responsibility to engage with the public on the values, issues, and ideas of the times, and that news organizations have much to gain in return. In fact, actionable feedback may:

Further develop an individual story or line of coverage.
Help answer questions that a story may raise.
Help identify related questions or issues that the audience, including demographic segments of that audience, is discussing or are concerned about.
Yield new and diverse sources and experts.

We strongly encourage our readers to participate in our community forum: https://discuss.privacyguides.net/

Our staff contributors are also listed alongside verified email links and other contact information, where you can ask them questions or report a complaint. Each article within our news section also clearly lists the author's byline, including contact and social media information when available.

When necessary, we will make updates to our articles based on our readership's comments and feedback.

We are proud of keeping this openness a top priority, in line with the nature of our community.

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