Code of Ethics – dailykos-clone

Daily Kos is a progressive news site that fights for democracy by giving our audience information and resources to win elections and impact government.

We have looked to other respected news organizations, including the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists, to inform our Code of Ethics for our staff.

Accuracy and Fairness

Accuracy is always our first priority. Writers are responsible for verifying information and providing context that does not misrepresent or oversimplify a story.
Writers should not omit crucial information affecting story accuracy. All commentary and opinion must be supported by facts and sources.
Using other people’s words or ideas without attribution is plagiarism, and Daily Kos does not tolerate it.
Using ChatGPT, Bing’s chatbot, or any other artificial intelligence to write content of any kind at Daily Kos, unless the content is about how artificial intelligence works, is strictly prohibited.
Stories must include content warnings before violence or disturbing material, which should not appear as header photos.

Corrections

Staff must notify editors of factual errors immediately. Published errors require accurate, thorough, and quick corrections with clearly identified correction notices.
Corrections apply to all factual errors regardless of publication date.
Stories too problematic to correct should be removed and replaced with an editor’s note explaining the issues, with headlines changed to “Retracted.”

Sourcing

Writers should select informed, reliable sources reflecting issue impact, including underrepresented communities, with clear source identification and credibility explanation.
Writers should cite and link to original (not aggregated) sources whenever possible.
Anonymous sources should only be used as a last resort and only after the writer has asked the source to go on the record.
Anonymous material must be vital to the story, only available under anonymity, and from credible, reliable sources with direct knowledge.
Writers must obtain Content Division head approval before filing stories using anonymous sources.

Editorial Independence

Staff cannot accept gifts, favors, free travel, or special treatment from sources that could influence coverage, compromise integrity, or damage credibility.
Items received for review (books, DVDs) may be kept for professional reference or donated to charities, but cannot be sold.
Staff cannot fundraise or advocate for unapproved persons, causes, or organizations within stories.
Staff should not be influenced by outside pressure in writing, community moderation, or work duties.
Staff must maintain professional behavior when representing Daily Kos.

Conflicts of Interest

Staff should not work on projects involving financial conflicts or problematic past relationships.
People or organizations with staff history should not receive special content or moderation treatment.
Staff performing paid or unpaid campaign work cannot write about related topics (phone banking and canvassing excluded).

Endorsements

Daily Kos endorses and fundraises for Democratic candidates. Endorsement decisions follow careful consideration of multiple factors, maintaining scrupulous ethics.

Daily Kos does not connect vendors, consultants, staff, or any other providers of goods or services with endorsed campaigns.
Daily Kos does not lobby endorsees who hold or win elective office any differently than we do non-endorsees.
Anyone recommending endorsements must disclose campaign connections, regardless of tenousness.
Daily Kos does not give special consideration to clients seeking endorsements.
Campaigns cannot offer inducements, and staff must report such attempts to leadership.

Advertising

Daily Kos accepts advertisements to support operations. The newsroom maintains separation from business operations; running ads does not imply endorsement.

Daily Kos reserves the right to reject inappropriate or brand-harmful ads, including:

Ads using false, misleading, hateful, or illegal content
Ads designed to mimic news stories
Ads misleading users about clicking outcomes
Ads not clearly indicating required payments

Third-party ad networks provide many ads not pre-reviewed by Daily Kos. Readers should contact Daily Kos regarding ads violating standards, providing relevant URLs.