Editorial & Journalistic Standards
“Journalism serves its highest purpose when the truth is pursued without fear, reported without favour, and upheld with integrity for the public good.”
Orfid operates as a public-interest journalism platform: independent, accountable, transparent, and committed to the rigorous pursuit of truth. These standards govern all reporting, analysis, review, and publication activity across the platform.
1. Core principles
- relentless pursuit of factual accuracy;
- independence from political, commercial, or private influence;
- robust protection of confidential sources;
- transparency of process where consistent with safety and law;
- fairness, proportionality, and accountability in reporting;
- ethical and lawful editorial decision-making.
2. Verification and accuracy
- cross-referencing evidence across independent sources;
- authentication of documents, images, metadata, and provenance;
- seeking comment from relevant individuals or institutions where appropriate;
- automated and manual legal screening via ISIS;
- withholding publication where verification cannot be achieved.
3. Public-interest mandate
- exposing corruption, wrongdoing, or abuses of power;
- highlighting systemic failures and accountability gaps;
- protecting public health, safety, or welfare;
- supporting democratic transparency and informed citizenship.
Orfid rejects sensationalism, fabrication, and distortion in all forms.
4. Fairness and right of reply
Orfid seeks to offer a fair opportunity to respond where doing so does not:
- endanger the safety of individuals;
- risk destruction or manipulation of evidence;
- compromise an active investigation;
- breach confidentiality or source-protection obligations.
Where a right of reply is provided, responses are represented accurately and in context.
5. Confidentiality and source protection
- encrypted communications and secure submission routes;
- strict role-based access controls enforced by ANUBIS;
- anonymisation, redaction, and compartmentalisation where required;
- legal protections under Article 10 of the ECHR;
- immutable audit trails governed by THOTH.
6. Editorial independence
Editorial decisions are not influenced by:
- government bodies;
- corporate or commercial entities;
- political organisations or campaigns;
- private individuals;
- sponsors, advertisers, or donors.
7. High-risk and sensitive content
- careful redaction of unnecessary identifiers;
- minimisation of intrusion into private life;
- consultation with subject-matter or legal experts;
- automated and manual compliance checks via ISIS.
8. Legal and ethical review
- Defamation Act 2013 assessment;
- Contempt of Court Act 1981 compliance;
- privacy and data-protection balancing;
- intellectual-property verification;
- ECHR proportionality analysis.
9. Corrections and accountability
- prompt corrections or clarifications where required;
- full audit trails retained via THOTH;
- complaints managed through GEB;
- continuous editorial improvement.