1. Independence
Swift Digest is reader-funded and editorially independent. No advertiser, donor, member, or business partner has any influence over what we cover or how we cover it. The wall between revenue and the newsroom is absolute, and the publisher does not direct day-to-day reporting decisions.
If a member or donor ever makes a coverage request, the answer is the same one you would get from any serious newsroom: we'll consider it on its merits like any other tip, and the membership relationship will not change the answer.
2. Accuracy and verification
Every factual claim in a Swift Digest piece is verified against a primary source — a public document, a named record, a confirmed witness, or an on-the-record statement. We do not republish from other outlets without independent verification, and we credit the original reporter when we build on someone else's work.
When verification is partial, the language reflects that. "Reported" and "confirmed" mean different things; we use them carefully.
3. Sourcing
Default position: sources are on the record. Anonymity is granted when an on-the-record account is impossible or would expose the source to retaliation, and only when an editor agrees the public interest in the story outweighs the cost of reduced transparency.
Anonymous sources are described as specifically as we can without identifying them — "a senior official at the agency," not "a source familiar with the matter." We tell readers why anonymity was granted. We do not use anonymous sources for personal attacks.
4. Source protection
Tipsters and confidential sources are protected. We do not log identifying metadata on tip submissions beyond what is needed to deliver the message, we encourage use of pseudonyms or burner email, and we will not surrender source identities to third parties without a court order — and even then, we will fight unnecessary disclosure. The privacy policy at /privacy/ has the operational detail.
5. Conflicts of interest
Reporters disclose financial holdings and personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived to affect their coverage. They recuse themselves from stories where a conflict cannot be managed by disclosure alone. Editors' disclosures are held to the same standard.
Speaking fees, sponsored travel, free product, and outside consulting are disclosed and, in most cases, declined when they intersect with the beat being covered.
6. Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it on the record. Corrections are appended to the affected piece with a dated note explaining what changed and why. We do not silently edit history — substantive changes are always disclosed.
The full corrections policy and a running log live at /corrections/. Readers can flag a suspected error to [email protected] or [email protected].
7. Right of reply
Anyone named in a critical piece is offered a meaningful chance to respond before publication, with enough time and detail to do so substantively. If they decline or do not respond, we say so. If they respond after publication with material new information, we update the piece and note the update.
8. Plagiarism and fabrication
Plagiarism and fabrication are firing offenses. Quotes are exact; paraphrases are clearly paraphrases; reporting that builds on other outlets' work credits them by name and links to the original.
9. AI and automation
Swift Digest does not publish AI-generated articles under a human byline. Generative AI may be used as a research aid — much like a search engine or a transcription tool — but every published sentence is written, edited, and verified by a human. When AI assistance is material to a piece (for example, when a model is used to summarize a large document set), we say so.
10. Privacy and harm minimization
Public interest is the test for naming private individuals, publishing sensitive details, and identifying victims of crime. We weigh the harm of publication against the public's need to know, and we err on the side of restraint when the subject is a private person, a minor, or a victim of violence or sexual assault.
Mugshots and arrest photos are not run as a default. Outdated criminal records are not republished without ongoing public-interest justification. Names of minors are withheld absent compelling cause.
11. Op-eds, opinion, and labeling
Opinion is labeled. Analysis is labeled. Straight news is labeled by absence of label — and held to a different standard. Sponsored content, were we ever to run any, would be unmistakably marked and produced outside the newsroom; the current answer is that we don't run any.
12. Funding and ownership transparency
Swift Digest is funded by reader memberships and reader donations. Significant funders — anyone whose support could plausibly be material to coverage — are disclosed. Ownership is disclosed. If either ever changes in a meaningful way, we say so on this page.
13. Holding ourselves accountable
These standards are only useful if readers can hold us to them. If you believe a Swift Digest piece falls short of the standards on this page, write to [email protected] with specifics. We read every note, we respond, and we publish substantive corrections when warranted.