This page outlines Luxe Digital’s publication ethics and research integrity policies. These standards apply to our editors, authors, reviewers, and our associated workforce.
Our ethics policies help ensure the accuracy and trustworthiness of the content published on Luxe Digital. They cover a wide range of subjects, including authorship, ethical approval for the study, conflicts of interest, data availability, and peer review.
Luxe Digital adheres to the Society of Professional Journalists’ professional standards and ethics committee guidelines. These guidelines promote the highest professional standards for journalists. We support trustworthy and independent journalism, strict and transparent research methodology, and quality content written by humans for humans.
Ethics and integrity policy statement
Luxe Digital is a leading online publisher. Our team members and community of readers come from diverse backgrounds, religions, cultures, and countries.
Values of honesty, fairness, and mutual respect underpin everything we do. Core to our mission to enrich, inspire, and empower our readers to elevate their lives is a focus on creating respectful relationships within the greater community. It is essential that we are able to act with integrity when facing ethical issues. At all times, we embrace diversity and equal opportunity while respecting the human rights and legally protected attributes of all individuals.
The following policies are taken from the Society of Professional Journalists’ latest ethics guidelines. They apply to our entire team and associated workforce.
1. Seek truth and report it
Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.
Our editorial team should:
- Take responsibility for the accuracy of their work, verify information before releasing it, and use original sources whenever possible.
- Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.
- Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing, or summarizing a story.
- Gather, update, and correct information throughout the life of a news story.
- Be cautious when making promises, but keep the promises they make.
- Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.
- Consider sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Reserve anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution, or other harm, and have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Explain why anonymity was granted.
- Diligently seek subjects of news coverage to allow them to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing.
- Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public.
- Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable. Give voice to the voiceless.
- Support the open and civil exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.
- Recognize a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government. Seek to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open and that public records are open to all.
- Provide access to source material when it is relevant and appropriate.
- Boldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience. Seek sources whose voices we seldom hear.
- Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting.
- Label advocacy and commentary.
- Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information. Clearly label illustrations and re-enactments.
- Never plagiarize. Always attribute.
2. Minimize harm
Luxe Digital treats sources, subjects, colleagues, and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.
Our editorial team should:
- Balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness.
- Show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage. Use heightened sensitivity when dealing with juveniles, victims of sex crimes, and sources or subjects who are inexperienced or unable to give consent. Consider cultural differences in approach and treatment.
- Recognize that legal access to information differs from an ethical justification to publish or broadcast.
- Realize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than public figures and others who seek power, influence, or attention. Weigh the consequences of publishing or broadcasting personal information.
- Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity, even if others do.
- Balance a suspect’s right to a fair trial with the public’s right to know. Consider the implications of identifying criminal suspects before they face legal charges.
- Consider the long-term implications of the extended reach and permanence of publication. Provide updated and more complete information as appropriate.
3. Act Independently
The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve our readers to the best of our ability.
Our editorial team should:
Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts.
Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel, and special treatment, and avoid political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality, or may damage credibility.
Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; do not pay for access to news. Identify content provided by outside sources, whether paid or not.
Deny favored treatment to advertisers, donors, or any other special interests, and resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage.
Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two. Prominently label sponsored content.
4. Be accountable and transparent
As an organization that values ethical journalism, Luxe Digital’s editors take responsibility for their work and are ready to explain their decisions to our readers.
Our editorial team should:
- Explain ethical choices and processes to audiences. Encourage a civil dialogue with the public about journalistic practices, coverage, and news content.
- Respond quickly to questions about accuracy, clarity, and fairness.
- Acknowledge mistakes and correct them promptly and prominently. Explain corrections and clarifications carefully and clearly.
- Expose unethical conduct in journalism, including within their organizations.
- Abide by the same high standards they expect of others.
5. Breaches
Luxe Digital treats any breach of its publication ethics and research integrity seriously. We encourage reporting concerns about non-compliance and will manage compliance of our team in accordance with the applicable employment contract terms and other relevant hiring and remuneration agreements. A failure to comply with these policies may result in action by Luxe Digital. Such action may include disciplinary and other action up to and including potential termination of employment for employees, or the cessation of engagements with Luxe Digital for other persons.
Luxe Digital’s publication ethics and research integrity policies were last updated on June 19, 2024.
Luxe Digital editorial standards and policies: