The principles that govern our journalism
Universal News operates under a strict editorial framework developed in consultation with media ethics experts, legal advisers, and senior journalists with decades of institutional experience. These standards are not aspirational — they are operational requirements.
Editorial decisions are made solely by the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial team. No advertiser, investor, or external party has any editorial influence. Commercial considerations are entirely separate from news decisions.
Every article undergoes a three-stage verification process: reporter verification, section editor review, and dedicated fact-checker sign-off. AI tools assist but never replace human verification. Articles are not published until all three stages are complete.
We identify sources by name wherever possible. Anonymous sources are used only when information cannot be obtained any other way and when the information is sufficiently important to the public interest to justify the use of anonymity. Readers are told why sources requested anonymity.
AI tools are used to assist journalists — generating summaries, suggesting SEO, flagging potential bias — but all published content is written and edited by human journalists. AI-generated content is labelled as such. AI is never used to fabricate quotes, invent sources, or manufacture facts.
We correct errors promptly and transparently. Corrections are appended to the original article and noted in our corrections log. Significant errors trigger an editorial review of the processes that allowed them.