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Editorial Standards

Editorial Standards

CITYNEWS delivers breaking news, top local stories, and political reporting with integrity, independence, and accountability to our readers.

Our Mission

To provide accurate, timely, and relevant news coverage that serves the Kenyan public’s right to know. We prioritize factual reporting over sensationalism and context over controversy.

Fact-Checking Standards

Every news article published by CITYNEWS follows a mandatory two-source verification policy for any factual claim that is not:

  • Recorded on video or audio from a primary source
  • Provided by an official government document
  • Directly observed by a CITYNEWS reporter

Sourcing Practices

CITYNEWS clearly identifies all sources of information. We use the following hierarchy of source attribution:

  • Named sources: Preferred and encourages full attribution
  • Conditional anonymity: Only granted when the source faces genuine safety or professional risk. Readers are informed why anonymity was granted
  • No anonymous sourcing: For unverified claims, speculation, or personal attacks

AI Disclosure (Mandatory per 2026 Google News Standards)

CITYNEWS uses artificial intelligence tools only in limited, disclosed circumstances:

  • Transcription: AI tools may be used to transcribe recorded interviews. All transcripts are reviewed and corrected by a human editor before use
  • Research assistance: AI may be used to identify publicly available documents or sources. No AI-generated content is published without full human review
  • Grammar and clarity: AI writing assistants may be used for spelling, grammar, and sentence clarity
  • No AI-generated reporting: CITYNEWS does not publish AI-generated news articles, AI-written opinion pieces, or any content where the AI created the substantive journalistic work

Any article that uses AI in the drafting process carries a disclosure line: “This article used AI-assisted transcription/research. All content reviewed by a human editor.”

Editorial Independence

CITYNEWS maintains strict separation between its editorial department and any advertising or sponsored content:

  • Advertisers have no influence over story selection, sourcing, or editorial conclusions
  • Sponsored content is clearly labeled “SPONSORED” or “PROMOTED”
  • Editorial staff may not accept gifts, payments, or favors from sources or subjects of coverage

Conflict of Interest Policy

All CITYNEWS journalists must disclose any potential conflicts of interest:

  • Financial interests in companies or industries they cover
  • Family relationships with subjects of coverage
  • Political activities or campaign contributions
  • Paid speaking engagements or consulting work

Disclosed conflicts result in reassignment of coverage to another journalist when possible, or explicit reader disclosure when reassignment is not possible.

Corrections and Updates

When CITYNEWS makes a substantive correction to a published article, the change is noted with a timestamp and explanation of what was corrected. Minor typographical errors are fixed without notice.

Anonymous Commenting

CITYNEWS does not permit anonymous commenting on news articles. Commenters must register with a verified email address. Comments are moderated for legality and civility but not for viewpoint agreement.

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is grounds for immediate termination. All CITYNEWS content is checked using plagiarism detection software. Any unattributed use of another publication’s reporting requires explicit permission and credit.

Last updated: May 11, 2026