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MEAWW Editorial Guidelines

Last updated: October 2025

At MEAWW, editorial integrity is the foundation of our journalism. Across MEAWW News and MEAWW Entertainment, we are committed to reporting that is accurate, fair, timely, and transparent. Our audience trusts us to deliver facts without distortion, and we take that responsibility seriously.

These guidelines set out the standards we expect from everyone who contributes to MEAWW content, staff, freelancers, and partners.

1. Scope & Purpose

These guidelines apply to:

  • All content published on meaww.com and news.meaww.com, including articles, videos, photos, social posts, newsletters, and live coverage.
  • All editorial teams, including news, entertainment, video, social, and special projects.

They are designed to:

  • Protect our readers’ trust
  • Support consistent standards across both verticals
  • Provide clear expectations for staff, contributors, and partners

2. Our Commitment to Accuracy

Accuracy is non-negotiable.

  • Every story is expected to be factually sound and clearly sourced.
  • We prioritize primary sources whenever possible, official statements, court records, government data, filings, on-the-record interviews, and authenticated documents.
  • Where primary sources are unavailable, we rely on multiple reputable outlets and attribute them clearly.

In breaking news:

  • Speed never outweighs accuracy. If information cannot be verified, we either hold the story or explicitly state what is unconfirmed.
  • We distinguish between verified facts, expert analysis, and opinion, and we label these clearly.

MEAWW journalists must not knowingly publish inaccurate, misleading, or distorted information, including manipulated images or video.

3. Fairness, Balance & Representation

We aim to give readers a balanced understanding of every story.

Our journalists are expected to:

  • Seek out multiple perspectives, especially on sensitive or contested issues.
  • Provide context rather than sensationalism.
  • Avoid language that stereotypes, discriminates, or unfairly frames individuals or groups.
  • Avoid prejudicial references to a person’s race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or physical/mental disability unless directly relevant to the story and handled with care.

We are committed to inclusive representation. Our reporting actively seeks voices across different genders, regions, communities, and lived experiences, so our coverage reflects the diverse audiences we serve.

4. Editorial Process

Our editorial workflow is designed to support both accuracy and clarity:

1. Assignment

  • Stories are assigned by senior editors with a clear brief, including angle, sensitivity level, and reporting priorities.

2. Reporting & Drafting

  • Reporters gather facts, conduct interviews, verify visuals, and draft the article.
  • Journalists must not coerce, harass, or threaten sources or subjects during reporting.

3. Fact-Checking

  • Editors verify claims, confirm quotes, cross-reference data, and review legal/safety risks before approval.

4. Final Review

  • A senior editor reviews the piece for tone, fairness, readability, and compliance with MEAWW’s editorial standards.

Sponsored and affiliate content:

  • Stories containing affiliate links or sponsored material undergo an additional review to ensure transparency and proper labeling.
  • Paid content must be clearly designated (for example, “Sponsored Content” or “Partner Content”) so readers can distinguish editorial from commercial material.

5. Corrections, Clarifications & Takedown Requests

We acknowledge that mistakes can happen. Our policy is to correct errors quickly and transparently.

How we correct

  • Significant errors (wrong names, key facts, quotes, numbers, misidentification, etc.) are corrected as soon as they are confirmed.
  • Substantial corrections are noted within the article, along with the date and nature of the change, for example via an Editor’s Note.
  • For minor clarifications (extra context, small wording improvements), we may revise content without a formal note, but we indicate when substantial updates have been made.

Social media

  • If incorrect or misleading information is published on social media, we correct it in a timely manner, preferably by editing the original post to note the error and provide the correct information.
  • If the platform doesn’t allow proper editing, we post a new, corrected update and may remove the original once the correction is visible.

Takedown (“unpublish”) requests

  • Takedown requests are increasingly common but do not always have merit.
  • As a matter of policy, we prefer to correct or update an article rather than unpublish it.
  • We will consider unpublishing only in cases involving serious errors, proof of misleading and/or defamatory content, legal obligations, or significant ongoing harm, after a thorough editorial and, where needed, legal review.

How to request a correction

If you spot an error or wish to request a correction, please email editor@meawwworld.com. Our team reviews every request promptly.

6. Editorial Independence & Ethics

MEAWW is funded through advertising, commercial partnerships, and affiliate revenue, but our journalism is produced independently of business interests.

  • No advertiser, sponsor, partner, or special-interest group controls the stories we cover or the conclusions we reach.
  • Editorial staff do not accept payment or gifts in exchange for coverage.

Conflicts of interest

  • Staff must inform heads of department or senior management of any outside personal or financial interests that might affect, or appear to affect, their work at MEAWW.
  • Any journalist writing about something with which they have a significant connection must inform their editor (e.g., investments, close relationships, advisory roles).
  • Journalists should not report on or publish opinions about any person related by blood or marriage or with whom they have a close personal, financial, or romantic relationship.
  • Staff should not use their position to obtain private benefit for themselves or others.

7. Sensitive Coverage: Privacy, Crime, Suicide & Children

We take extra care when covering sensitive topics.

Privacy & private spaces

  • Our journalists must not photograph or record individuals in private places without consent, except in rare cases of strong public interest and in line with the law.

Crime & legal matters

  • Relatives or friends of those accused or convicted of crimes should generally not be identified without their consent, unless their identity is directly relevant to the story.

Suicide & self-harm

  • In cases involving suicide, we avoid excessive detail about the method or location and follow recognized guidelines to minimize the risk of harm or imitation.

Children & young people

  • A child under 16 must not be interviewed or photographed on issues involving their own or another child’s welfare without the consent of a parent or legal guardian.
  • Parents and children must not be paid for material involving children’s welfare unless it is clearly in the child’s best interest.
  • MEAWW will not identify children under 16 who are victims or witnesses in cases involving sexual offences. In any report of a sexual offence against a child, the child must not be identified (even if the adult may be).

8. Sources, Anonymity & Protection

We value open attribution but recognize that some important information can only be obtained on condition of anonymity.

  • MEAWW journalists are under a moral obligation to protect the identity of confidential sources.
  • Anonymity is granted only when the information is vital to the public interest and cannot reasonably be obtained otherwise.
  • Editors must know the identity of confidential sources and assess credibility and risk before publication.
  • We avoid relying on a single anonymous source for serious allegations; corroboration is expected wherever possible.

9. Social Media & Personal Conduct

MEAWW thrives on social platforms, and our journalists are encouraged to engage with audiences. However:

  • Every MEAWW journalist, even when using personal accounts, is seen as a representative of the company.
  • We do not tolerate staff engaging in online harassment, bullying, hate speech, or knowingly spreading false information.
  • Journalists should refrain from posting commentary that compromises their ability to report fairly, especially on beats they cover professionally.

Where needed, social media activity may be subject to editorial guidance or restrictions to protect credibility and safety.

10. Governance, Memberships & Accountability

We participate in industry networks and third-party review programs to align with best practices in digital publishing.

  • MEAWW is a member of Local Media Association (LMA).
  • We work with external evaluators such as NewsGuard to assess and strengthen our standards around transparency, sourcing, and credibility.

These relationships do not give external organizations control over our editorial decisions, but they help us benchmark against industry norms and identify areas to improve.

We invite readers, sources, and partners to hold us accountable. Questions or concerns can be sent to:

11. Freelance Contributions & Pitches

We welcome contributions from freelance journalists and writers who share our values of accuracy, fairness, and clear sourcing.

  • If you would like to pitch a story, please email editor@meawwworld.com with “Freelance Pitch” in the subject line and include links to samples of your work.
  • Freelancers working with MEAWW are expected to follow these guidelines in full, including rules around conflicts of interest, source protection, and sensitive coverage.