Contributor standards & privacy

For reporters

• No fabrication. No invented facts, quotes, people, documents or events. Ever. One fabricated detail ends your account.
• Sources required. News and investigations must list the records and sources they rely on, with links wherever possible.
• Editors may edit. Every story is reviewed before publishing. Editors can edit for accuracy, fairness, length and clarity, ask for changes, or decline to publish.
• Labels. Opinion is labeled Opinion and kept separate from news.
• Corrections. Errors are corrected with a dated note on the story. Editors can add corrections after publishing.
• Conflicts. Tell the editors about any personal, financial or political interest in a story.
• Follow our full editorial standards.

Your privacy

• Real name and email are private. Only Hoosier First editors can see them. They never appear on the site, in page source or in any public data. Readers see only your byline or pen name.
• Photos. We remove location and camera data (EXIF) from every image you upload.
• Tips are private, go only to editors and are never published as-is. Your contact email is optional.
• Email updates. If you sign up, your email is used only to send Hoosier First updates. We never sell or share it. Unsubscribe any time from the link in any update.
• America First representatives choose what readers see: a display name, optional photo and short bio. Their email and phone are never published; messages come through the site.
• We keep a log of editor actions for accountability. To delete a reporter account, contact the editors from your dashboard.

Accounts

Signing in is only for reporters and staff. Everything else on the site is free and open, with no login. Editors can approve, suspend or remove contributor accounts.