TheDesk.net holds many of the same standards of practice and ethics of accurate and accountable journalism as its peers who cover the intersections of business, technology, media. Adhering to these principles has allowed TheDesk.net to publish unrivaled and reliable news stories related to companies, products and services since the website launched in 2013.
Everyone at TheDesk.net — from our publisher to our contributors — is expected to abide by the same set of standards of practice and ethics, which is critical to our editorial independence, our reputation and our trust with readers.
Our Editorial Standards of Practice
1.) We do not accept anything of material value in exchange for favorable news coverage.
This means we will not promise to review a company, a service or a product in a certain way in exchange for something of material value or future goodwill, and we exercise our independent discretion when it comes to whether to rate or review a company, product or service positively or negatively.
2.) We strive to be fair in all our news reporting.
This requires an objective approach to newsgathering and reporting on companies, products and services. It does not mean we must offer “both sides” of a story, particularly if one side might misrepresent a topic or issue, but it does mean that our reporting should reflect as many perspectives as practical.
3.) We thoroughly disclose our conflicts.
Our editorial contributors and employees are not prohibited from having financial positions (“owning stock”) in the companies that they cover, but they are strongly discouraged from doing so. Contributors and employees must disclose any material ownership of or employment with a company at the time of a story’s publication, and must also disclose any nominal facts about that position or employment (i.e., if the contributor or employee sits on the board of a company that is covered).
4.) We do not make promises that we cannot guarantee, and we keep the promises that we do make.
From time to time, a company may send us an announcement regarding a future product, service, employee hiring or some other matter, with that the information not be published until a certain day or time (also known as an “embargo”). We do accept embargoed news releases, and strive to ensure that the material is not published until the agreed upon date and time, though we reserve the right to publish the information earlier if the information becomes public beforehand.
That said, we don’t allow others to dictate our news coverage of a company, product or service. We don’t promise favorable coverage in exchange for something of material value or future goodwill. And we don’t allow the subjects of our reporting to wholesale “preview” our news articles, news stories or editorial columns prior to publication.
5.) We protect our confidential sources.
Like other publications, we rely on sources to provide us with accurate and reliable information to help further our newsgathering and reporting. We may, at our discretion, grant anonymity to sources in limited cases, and we will strive to protect those sources from disclosure. We typically only provide anonymity to sources when there is a high degree of likelihood that a source will face actual harm, retribution or other danger if their identity is disclosed.
TheDesk.net operates in California (our parent, Solano Media LLC, is registered as a business). Our anonymous sources are protected by numerous state laws that affirm journalistic privilege, including the California Shield Law (Cal. Evid. Code § 1070) and the California Anti-SLAPP Law (Cal. C.C.P. § 425.16). Those laws are further recognized by the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes California, as legitimate defenses against source entrapment or revelation. We will vigorously defend our right to report and your right to confidentiality in court, should it come to that.
Please note that those legal protections only cover sources who provide TheDesk.net with information or material that can be used in connection with our journalism; they do not extend to our business partners, readers, followers or advertisers. We also cannot provide our sources with direct legal counsel or representation.
6.) We do not pay for news tips.
Just as we accept nothing of material value in exchange for favorable news reporting, we do not provide anything of material value in exchange for newsworthy information from sources (but we may pay for editorial contributions like photographs, video, columns and freelance stories in the form of a license), and we will not agree to provide anything of material value in exchange for newsworthy information.
7.) Our conversations with sources are “on the record,” unless otherwise agreed to.
Sources who provide us with an interview or information should consider any statements to be “on the record,” in that they are reportable and attributable, without limitation. Any divergence from this — including “on background,” “not for attribution” and “off the record” — must be agreed upon by both the reporter and the source prior to any information exchange or interview — in other words, if you say it, we can report it, unless there’s a prior, mutual agreement otherwise. Impromptu assertions from sources that a statement is “on background” or “off the record” does not constitute a prior, mutual agreement.
We treat information obtained “on background” the same as information that is obtained from an “off the record” conversation. Typically, we will only agree to receive information “on background” or “off the record” if it helps us better learn about a company, product or service in a way that prevents a material omission or error in our reporting. We reserve the right to ask a source if we can report some information from an “on background” or “off the record” conversation in a limited capacity; the source reserves the right to accept or decline this offer.
8.) Our business model is separate from our editorial mission.
TheDesk.net is free to access by readers around the world, across a wide variety of devices, including computers, smartphones, tablets and e-readers. To help offset costs associated with newsgathering and reporting (including licensing, server costs and other expenses), the website uses a mixture of advertising and affiliate links to generate revenue.
TheDesk.net earns a commission from goods and services that are purchased by readers using affiliate links found in some articles, columns and reviews. It costs readers nothing to use these links, and it helps keep TheDesk.net free to access and read now and in the future. Additionally, TheDesk.net uses display advertising networks and related services that help generate supplemental revenue. (At the moment, TheDesk.net does not accept advertisements in the form of sponsored content, though we reserve the right to do so in the future.) Readers who use ad-blocking technology can support TheDesk.net through a one-time or recurring donation.
Our advertising and affiliate revenue partners do not dictate our editorial coverage, and no consideration is given to advertisers or affiliate partners in terms of the stories pursued and reported by TheDesk.net. We reserve the right to terminate an affiliation agreement, or prevent an advertiser from promoting their company, product or service through our advertising network or service, at any time.
Our Corrections Policy
We strive for accuracy in all of our reporting, but we are also human (see our disclosure on artificial intelligence usage below), and mistakes are sometimes made.
If you spot an error and would like to submit a correction, please send us a message by clicking or tapping here. Most of our stories also have an author byline and e-mail address underneath the headline, and you can reach out to an individual writer that way.
We will review all requests for corrections as soon as practical. In instances of obvious error (such as a typo or egregious factual inaccuracy); in cases involving substantial errors in reporting, we will affix an editor’s note to the end of the article.
We reserve the right to correct, amend or update a story based on correction requests that do not involve egregious or obvious errors. Typically, we do not update an older story to reflect later events (such as a TV station changing its call letters or affiliations) if the story was accurate at the time of publication.
Our Use of Artificial Intelligence Products & Services
Like other news outlets, TheDesk.net uses certain artificial intelligence products for specific purposes, and we adhere to certain standards of practice with respect to our use of artificial intelligence in our editorial operations and our business.
In short, we do not use artificial intelligence products or solutions:
- For research purposes. We do not rely on artificial intelligence to conduct research on our behalf; instead, we research topics and potential subject matters using a variety of other sources, including search engines, dictionaries, fact-checked encyclopedias, reputable news outlets, historic archives, scholarly repositories and other libraries of information.
- To write news stories. We do not publish entire news stories that are written using generative artificial intelligence tools, and we do not accept materials from freelancers or contributors that are partially or entirely created using artificial intelligence.
- To give the appearance that an interaction with a source or a business partner comes from a human being.
- In our decision-making processes. Artificial intelligence tools are not used to make significant editorial- or business-related decisions.
We may use artificial intelligence products and solutions:
- To assist in the editing process. We used artificial intelligence solutions to assist with spell and grammar checking, to ensure consistency in style, and to maintain a streamlined visual presentation across articles, sections and multimedia.
- As a way to summarize complex issues. While we do not ask artificial intelligence tools to fetch information for research purposes, we may ask artificial intelligence to help us evaluate significant volumes of data or help us understand complicated topics and issues. In all instances, a human editor evaluates all output and returns to ensure it is accurate and consistent.
- To further certain business initiatives, mainly related to advertising. Some of our advertising technology uses artificial intelligence to determine the best placement of spots across articles, videos, podcasts and other media content, with a moderate amount of human oversight.
- To create non-written content, including charts, tables, graphs and non-editorial imagery.
More Resources
- Learn more about pitching us a story, including what (and what not) to send
- Read up on our editorial coverage areas, including specific beats and industries
- Send us a news tip, question, request for correction or comment
- Our editorial style, explained in full here
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Add us as a trusted news source on Google