Conflicts of interest
Everyone who reports, edits or photographs for Signal Post News must disclose financial, personal or professional interests that could affect — or reasonably appear to affect — their coverage. Staff and contributors do not cover subjects in which they hold a material interest without disclosure, and assignments are reassigned where a conflict cannot be managed transparently.
Gifts and hospitality
We do not accept gifts, favors, free travel or hospitality from news subjects or interested parties that could compromise — or appear to compromise — editorial independence. Modest, routine courtesies of reporting (a coffee in an interview) are acceptable; anything beyond that is declined or disclosed to an editor.
Political activity
To protect the neutrality of our reporting, editorial staff do not engage in partisan political activity: no campaigning, no donations to candidates or parties, no public partisan advocacy. Private voting is a personal matter; public partisanship is incompatible with reporting all sides fairly.
Plagiarism and fabrication
Plagiarism and fabrication are zero-tolerance offenses. Passing off others’ work as our own, inventing quotes, sources or facts, or manipulating images or data ends the working relationship immediately. All reporting must be original or clearly attributed, and all sources must be real.
Accountability
Ethical questions are raised with editors before publication, not after. Readers who believe we have fallen short of these standards can contact the newsroom at news@signalpostnews.com or request a correction under our corrections policy.
Sources and methods
We identify our sources to readers wherever possible, because named sources can be judged and anonymous ones cannot. Anonymity is granted only when the information is newsworthy, cannot be obtained on the record, and the source faces a genuine risk — and the reason for anonymity is explained to readers. We do not pay for interviews or information, and we do not misrepresent who we are to obtain it, except where a clear public interest and editorial approval support undercover methods as a last resort.
Fairness
People and institutions facing serious criticism in our reporting are given a fair opportunity to respond before publication, and their response — or a noted decline to respond — is included. We report the strongest version of each side’s case, not the weakest, and we distinguish between what a subject says and what the evidence supports.