News Summaries. Straight to the point.

News Summaries. Straight to the point.

Our Editorial Process

Editorial Policy

Effective Date: 9/01/2025

Our Purpose

ActiveNews24 delivers short, clear, fact-focused news summaries that respect readers’ time. We prioritize accuracy, transparency, and accessibility for all readers—especially those who prefer concise formats to support focus and reduce overwhelm.

Core Principles

  • Accuracy first: Facts over opinions; context over clicks.
  • Transparency: Every story links to at least one original source article.
  • Accessibility: Plain language, short paragraphs, meaningful headlines.
  • Human oversight: Every article is reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication.
  • Integrity: Editorial independence from advertisers, sponsors, and partners.

Sourcing Standards

We follow a “best-available evidence” approach:

  1. Primary sources (preferred): official documents, court filings, government/agency releases, company filings, on-the-record statements, transcripts.
  2. Authoritative secondary sources: established newsrooms, academic institutions, industry outlets with clear editorial controls.
  3. Attribution: We name and link the outlet or document for every factual assertion derived from others. Direct quotes are clearly quoted and attributed.
  4. Anonymous sources: We rarely rely on them. If necessary, anonymity must be approved by an editor, the reason for anonymity must be compelling (safety, employment risk, etc.), and corroboration is required.
  5. Conflict checks: We avoid using sources with undisclosed financial or personal conflicts. If unavoidable, we disclose the relationship.
  6. Corrections: If a source retracts or corrects, we update our story and note the change (see /corrections).

Summarization Methodology

Our summaries are designed to be short, complete enough to inform, and link-rich for context.

  • What we include: the Who, What, When, Where, Why/How, material impacts, and what’s known/unknown.
  • What we avoid: speculation, editorializing, clickbait, and unnecessary adjectives.
  • Length guidance: Typically 60–180 words per item (flexible for clarity).
  • Context link: Every article includes at least one link to the original source article and, when useful, additional documents.
  • Consistency: Headlines reflect the core fact; no exaggeration or hedging not supported by the body.

Verification & Fact-Checking

  • Two-source rule (where feasible): We verify key facts with two independent sources or one definitive primary document.
  • Timestamping: We timestamp publish and update times.
  • Pre-publish checklist: names/titles/spellings, numbers and units, dates/times/time zones, quotes, link targets, and headline alignment.
  • Post-publish monitoring: We watch for official updates and amend stories promptly with an “Update” or “Correction” note.

Human Review (No Auto-Publish)

We may use professional tools to assist with drafting or formatting, but nothing is ever auto-published. Our human workflow:

  1. Writer/Curator drafts the summary with source links.
  2. Fact-Checker (or the assigning editor) validates claims against sources.
  3. Editor reviews for clarity, balance, headline accuracy, compliance, and house style.
  4. Final Approval by a human editor → publish.

Every article is reviewed and approved by an actual human on the team before it goes live.

Independence, Funding & Advertising

  • Editorial independence: Coverage decisions are made by the editorial team alone.
  • Ads/Sponsorships: Clearly labeled (“Advertisement,” “Sponsored,” or “Partner”). Paid placements do not influence our reporting or summaries.
  • Affiliate links (if used): Disclosed within the page; we never let affiliate economics dictate coverage.

Ethics & Fairness

  • Right of reply: When feasible, we seek comment from parties central to serious allegations before publishing.
  • Privacy & safety: Extra care for minors, victims of crime, and private individuals drawn into public interest stories.
  • Avoiding harm: We weigh public interest against potential harm, and we avoid publishing sensitive details without necessity.

Accessibility & Inclusive Design

  • Plain language: Jargon minimized; acronyms expanded on first use.
  • Focus-friendly: Short sections, bullet points, and scannable structure to support readers with attention differences (including ADHD).
  • Media descriptions: We add captions/alt text when using images or embeds, where applicable.

Corrections & Updates

  • Corrections: Material errors get a visible correction note in the article.
  • Clarifications: We mark clarifications if wording could mislead despite accurate facts.
  • Updates: Substantive follow-ups are timestamped.
    See our full policy at /corrections.

Editorial Contacts