, oversees the editorial workflow, runs fact-checking, and signs off on every published article. The bylined author owns the subject-matter accuracy; the Editorial Director owns sourcing and presentation accuracy.
2. Source Requirements
Every factual claim in our articles must trace back to one of the following:
Acceptable primary sources:
- Government agencies (.gov / .gov.uk / EU agencies / equivalent)
- Peer-reviewed academic publications and university research
- Manufacturer spec sheets, official product documentation, and audited financial disclosures
- Industry trade bodies with published standards (e.g., ASE, ASHS, NAIOP, AICPA)
- The bylined author's own documented professional experience
What we don't treat as a source: competitor blog posts, AI-generated summaries, Reddit/forum threads as the sole basis for a claim, or "studies have shown" without a named study.
3. Fact-Checking Workflow
Before any article is published or republished, it goes through the following steps:
| Step | Owner | What gets verified |
|---|
| 1. Outline | Author | Search intent match, scope, key claims to cover |
| 2. First draft | Author | Subject-matter accuracy, personal experience anecdotes, named products/brands/figures |
| 3. Source verification | Editorial Director | Every named statistic, brand, price, regulation traced to primary source |
| 4. AI-residue scan | Editorial Director | Removes generic AI phrasing, "filler" paragraphs, repeated transitions |
| 5. Final read-aloud | Editorial Director | Catches anything that doesn't sound like a real expert speaking |
| 6. Publish | Editorial Director | Sets canonical date; adds reviewer byline |
4. AI Disclosure
We use AI assistance in our editorial workflow. Specifically:
- What AI helps with: First-draft scaffolding, research summarization, grammar/style polishing, outline generation.
- What AI does NOT do: Final published copy without expert review. No article reaches a reader without the bylined author reviewing it for subject accuracy and the Editorial Director verifying sources.
- What we will not do: Fabricate author credentials, invent quotes attributed to real people, claim AI-generated content was written by a specific human without that human's verification.
Full policy: