1. Scope
These standards apply to staff writers, editors, freelancers, guest authors, columnists, photographers, illustrators, researchers, translators, reviewers, analysts, and other contributors whose work appears under the Digital Liberty name.
A commission or publication agreement may establish additional requirements, but it does not reduce the core responsibilities of honesty, originality, disclosure, accuracy, confidentiality, and cooperation with corrections.
2. Identity and Biography
Contributors must provide accurate identity and contact information to the responsible editor.
Public bylines normally use the contributor’s real professional name.
A pseudonym may be approved where there is a documented safety, legal, cultural, or public interest reason. The responsible editor must know and be able to verify the contributor’s identity unless exceptional circumstances make this impossible and the reason is specifically recorded.
Contributor biographies must be factual, proportionate, and verifiable.
Contributors may not invent qualifications, employment, awards, clients, publications, locations, professional affiliations, or areas of expertise.
Digital Liberty does not create fictitious author profiles or use synthetic portraits presented as real people.
3. Originality and Rights
Submitted work must be original or must clearly identify material that has previously been published, adapted, translated, or created jointly with another person.
Plagiarism, disguised copying, fabricated reporting, undisclosed duplicate publication, and unauthorized use of protected material are prohibited.
Contributors must have the necessary rights or permissions for text, images, data, audio, video, documents, and other material supplied for publication.
Claims concerning quotation rights, fair use, fair dealing, public domain status, open licenses, permissions, or other legal bases must be represented accurately.
4. Accuracy and Source Responsibility
Contributors are responsible for the factual foundation of their work.
When reasonably requested, contributors must provide relevant source material, notes, recordings, calculations, documents, links, or contact information needed to verify published claims.
Contributors must clearly distinguish between direct knowledge, sourced fact, estimate, allegation, opinion, inference, prediction, and hypothetical example.
Quotes must not be invented, materially altered, or presented outside their relevant context.
Statistics should be traceable to their underlying source.
Legal, scientific, financial, technical, cybersecurity, and other high consequence claims require an appropriate level of verification.
Editors may request additional evidence, subject matter review, a response from the relevant person or organization, or removal of a claim that cannot be adequately supported.
5. Conflicts of Interest
Before commissioning and before publication, contributors must disclose financial interests, employment, consulting relationships, investments, gifts, travel, family relationships, political roles, advocacy positions, litigation, personal disputes, and other connections that could reasonably affect, or appear to affect, their work.
Disclosure does not automatically disqualify a contributor.
Depending on the circumstances, the editor may approve the assignment with a public disclosure, modify its scope, introduce independent review, or decline the work.
Concealing a material conflict may result in correction, removal of published work, termination of the contributor relationship, or an appropriate public editor’s note.
6. Gifts, Travel, and Access
Contributors should not accept cash, personal favors, valuable gifts, or other benefits intended to influence editorial coverage.
Low value customary items should generally be declined where practical or handled according to an editorial decision.
Travel, accommodation, event access, devices, product samples, services, data access, or other benefits supplied by an interested party must be disclosed to the responsible editor and, where material, to readers.
Receiving a free product, service, trip, or event invitation does not guarantee publication, favorable treatment, or a positive assessment.
Review products should be returned, donated, purchased, or otherwise handled under a documented arrangement where practical.
7. Sponsored and Commercial Work
Contributors must inform the editor if a proposed subject is connected to a current or recent client, employer, investor, sponsor, affiliate arrangement, commercial partnership, or paid campaign.
Commercial material must comply with Digital Liberty’s Sponsored Content and Affiliate Disclosure policy and must not be represented as independent journalism.
Contributors may not sell access to Digital Liberty, promise publication, guarantee rankings or favorable coverage, accept undisclosed payment from a subject, or use the publication’s name to obtain personal benefits.
8. Artificial Intelligence and Automation
AI tools may be used only in ways consistent with accuracy, confidentiality, intellectual property, privacy, security, and Digital Liberty’s editorial requirements.
Permitted assistance may include transcription, translation support, data cleaning, brainstorming, research organization, structural assistance, or copyediting where appropriate.
Human verification and authorship responsibility remain mandatory.
Contributors must disclose material AI use to the responsible editor.
They must not submit model generated facts, sources, quotations, citations, legal analysis, images, data, or reporting without appropriate independent verification.
Confidential source information, unpublished drafts, personal data, restricted documents, or other sensitive material must not be uploaded to an external AI service without authorization and an appropriate data protection assessment.
Digital Liberty may require public disclosure where AI or synthetic media materially shaped published work or where a reasonable reader would consider that information relevant to evaluating the content.
9. Fairness, Harm, and Conduct
Contributors must treat sources, subjects, colleagues, and readers with professional respect.
Harassment, discrimination, retaliation, coercion, bribery, deceptive impersonation, evidence tampering, and unnecessary intrusion are prohibited.
Undercover reporting or deceptive methods require exceptional public interest justification and prior editorial approval.
Coverage involving children, victims, private individuals, sexual violence, self harm, health, identity, security, or vulnerable communities requires heightened care.
Public curiosity alone does not establish public interest.
10. Embargoes, Off the Record, and Confidentiality
Terms such as “off the record,” “background,” “not for attribution,” and “embargoed” should be agreed before the relevant information is supplied.
A source cannot unilaterally impose a restriction after disclosure.
Contributors should clarify ambiguous arrangements and document significant agreements where practical.
Confidential material must be stored and shared in a manner proportionate to the associated risk.
Access should be limited to authorized individuals with a legitimate need to know.
Contributors must promptly report the loss, compromise, legal demand, accidental disclosure, or suspected unauthorized access involving confidential material.
11. Editing and Publication
Digital Liberty may edit commissioned work for accuracy, structure, length, tone, legal risk, clarity, accessibility, headlines, metadata, formatting, and house style.
Where practical, material changes that significantly alter a contributor’s argument or factual meaning should be discussed with the contributor.
Final publication authority rests with the responsible editor.
A commission does not guarantee publication.
Payment, kill fees, rights, expenses, deadlines, exclusivity, and other contractual matters are governed by the applicable written agreement.
12. Corrections and Continuing Duty
Contributors must promptly notify the responsible editor of any known or suspected error, undisclosed conflict, source concern, legal issue, or significant development affecting previously published work.
Contributors are expected to cooperate with correction requests, clarification, evidence review, complaints, and editorial investigations.
Where a demonstrated material error requires correction, contributors are expected to assist in resolving it promptly.
Refusal to cooperate with a necessary correction may itself become relevant to Digital Liberty’s editorial assessment.
13. Enforcement
Breaches of these standards may result in additional editing, delayed publication, rejection of submitted material, correction, public disclosure, suspension, removal from future assignments, termination of the contributor relationship, repayment where contractually justified, or referral to an appropriate authority.
The response will be proportionate to the nature of the breach, including intent, potential or actual harm, recurrence, seriousness, and cooperation.
14. Contact
Questions regarding these standards, contributor declarations, conflicts of interest, commissioning matters, or related editorial requirements should be sent to:
contributors@digitalliberty.info
Contributors should disclose relevant concerns as early as possible so that they can be assessed before publication where practicable.
Last reviewed: 24 August 2026.