The Poly Post
Ethics and Correction Policy
I. Purpose and Guiding Principles
The Poly Post is committed to accurate, fair and transparent journalism. As a student news organization, we hold ourselves to the same professional standards expected of any credible news outlet. This policy establishes how we ensure accuracy and transparency in our reporting, and how we handle corrections when errors occur.
Our guiding principles:
- Accuracy first. We do not publish or post information we cannot verify.
- Transparency with our audience. Readers deserve to know how we report, where our information comes from and when we get something wrong.
- Accountability. Errors are corrected promptly and openly, not minimized or ignored.
- Independence. Our reporting is not influenced by university administration, advertisers, sources or personal relationships.
II. Ensuring Accuracy and Transparency in Reporting
A. Verification Standards
- Multiple sourcing. Factual claims central to a story should be confirmed by more than one independent source whenever possible.
- Quote accuracy. Quotes must reflect what a source actually said. Minor edits for grammar/clarity are permitted only if they do not change meaning.
- Fact-checking before publication. Every story is reviewed by at least one editor for factual accuracy, spelling of names, titles, dates and figures before it is published.
B. Fairness and Balance
- Individuals or organizations who are the subject of critical reporting are given a genuine opportunity to respond before publication.
- Reporters seek out and fairly represent multiple relevant viewpoints on contested issues.
- Headlines, photo captions and social media posts must accurately reflect the content of the story.
C. Conflicts of Interest
- Staff must disclose to an editor any personal, financial or organizational relationship that could compromise (or appear to compromise) their objectivity on a story.
- Staff may not report on organizations, clubs or individuals with whom they have a close personal or financial relationship without editor review and, where appropriate, reassignment or added disclosure.
- Staff do not accept gifts, payment or special treatment from sources or subjects of coverage.
D. Sourcing and Attribution Transparency
- Information taken from other news outlets, press releases or third-party data must be clearly attributed.
- Anonymous sources are used only when the information is of significant public value, cannot be obtained on the record, and the source’s identity is known to and approved by an editor. The story must explain, as specifically as possible, why anonymity was granted.
E. Editorial Independence and Labeling
- News, opinion and sponsored/promotional content are clearly and consistently labeled so readers can distinguish between them.
- Editorial decisions are made independently of the university administration, ASI, advertisers and outside organizations.
F. Artificial Intelligence Tools
- As a news organization at the institution of higher education our staff does not use AI tools to generate stories or images.
- Any use of copy-editing AI tools is disclosed to the editor-in-chief and faculty adviser.
III. Correcting Errors in Reporting
A. Reporting an Error
- Errors may be identified by staff, sources or readers. Any staff member, source or reader may flag a possible error by contacting the editor-in-chief or the relevant section editor via the contact information listed on our website or at the bottom of the article with the error.
- All error reports are taken seriously and reviewed. No report is dismissed without verification.
B. Correction Process
- Verification. Upon notice of a possible error, the section editor and editor-in-chief verify the claim against original sources, documents or recordings as quickly as possible.
- Timeliness. Confirmed errors are corrected as soon as verification is complete. For digital content, this should typically occur within 24 hours of confirmation.
- Transparency in the correction itself:
- Digital stories: The error is corrected in the body of the story, and a dated correction note is appended at the top or bottom of the article stating what was wrong and what was changed (e.g., “Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of the event. It has been corrected to reflect that the event occurred on March 4, not March 5.”).
- Print stories: A correction runs in the next available print edition, in a clearly labeled “Corrections” section, identifying the original story, the error and the correct information.
- Social media: If the error was shared on social media, a follow-up post notes the correction and links to the corrected story.
- No silent edits. Substantive factual corrections are never made without a visible correction note. Minor, non-substantive fixes (e.g., a typo that does not affect meaning) may be corrected without a formal note but should still be logged internally.
C. Severity-Based Response
- Minor errors (e.g., typos, non-material misspellings): Corrected directly; logged internally.
- Significant errors (e.g., factual inaccuracies affecting the story’s meaning, misquotes, incorrect attributions): Corrected with a public correction note as described above.
- Serious errors (e.g., defamatory inaccuracies, fabrication, plagiarism, major factual reversals): Corrected with a prominent correction note; reviewed by the editor-in-chief and faculty adviser; may include a formal editor’s note explaining what went wrong and what steps are being taken to prevent recurrence. Disciplinary review of the responsible staff member may follow per The Poly Post staff policy.
D. Retraction Policy
In rare cases where a story is found to be fundamentally false, fabricated or plagiarized, the story may be retracted (removed from publication) rather than corrected. A retraction notice explaining the reason for removal remains in its place. Retraction is used only when correction cannot adequately address the problem and requires editor-in-chief and faculty adviser approval.
E. Internal Accountability
- A running internal log of all corrections and retractions is maintained by the editor-in-chief for training and pattern-review purposes (e.g., identifying recurring sourcing issues).
- Patterns of repeated errors by an individual staff member trigger a review with the section editor and, if needed, additional training or reassignment.
Adopted by The Poly Post editorial board. Questions about this policy may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief.
