Disclosure
How employer, vendor and commercial relationships are declared — on the story itself, not only in a policy page.
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Disclosure goes on the story
A policy page nobody reads is not disclosure. Where a relationship is relevant, it appears on the story itself, in the byline area, and in the story’s structured data — the same mechanism the “Illustrative example” badge uses today.
What a contributor must declare
- A commercial interest in a tool or vendor named in the story — employment, advisory work, equity, referral fees.
- A paid relationship with anyone who benefits from the story being published.
- Whether the work described was done for their employer, and whether the employer has approved the account.
- Prior publication of the same material elsewhere.
The submission form asks for this before the story reaches an editor, so it is part of the record from the start.
What makes a story ineligible
- It was commissioned or paid for by a vendor named in it.
- Its purpose is to market a product the contributor sells.
- The disclosure would be too broad to state honestly without breaching a confidentiality agreement.
On our side
Nobody can pay for acceptance, for a favorable edit, or for placement in the weekly email. If sponsorship ever exists it will be labelled as such and governed by the sponsorship policy, which is published in advance precisely so it reads as a principle rather than a defense.