Purpose of this policy
This document sets out the standards that govern everything published on USA Wire. It exists so that readers can judge our work against a stated benchmark rather than an assumed one, and so that our own editors have a written rule to point to when a decision is difficult.
Sourcing
Our default is primary documentation. Where a claim can be traced to an original filing, dataset, statute, rulemaking docket or peer reviewed paper, we cite that source rather than a secondary account of it. When we rely on another publication’s reporting, we credit it explicitly and link to it; we do not present another newsroom’s work as our own by paraphrase.
Statistics are attributed to the agency or institution that produced them, with the release period stated. Where two credible sources disagree, we present both figures and explain the methodological reason for the gap instead of quietly choosing one. We avoid round numbers that have travelled through several retellings without an origin.
Verification
Before publication, every article is checked line by line against its sources by an editor who did not write it. Numbers, dates, job titles, statutory citations and quotations are verified individually. If a claim cannot be verified, it is removed rather than softened with hedging language. An article that is nearly ready is held; there is no deadline on this site that outranks accuracy.
Anonymity
We prefer named sources and use anonymity only where a person faces a genuine risk of retaliation, legal exposure or loss of employment for speaking. When we do grant it, we explain in the article why the source’s identity is withheld and what the source’s position is, so that readers can weigh the claim. Anonymity is never granted for the convenience of making an attack on a competitor or a colleague.
Conflicts of interest
Contributors are required to disclose financial holdings, consulting arrangements, board seats and family relationships that bear on their assignments, and are recused where a conflict is material. Editorial staff do not trade in the securities of companies they cover in the period around publication. Gifts, paid travel and hospitality from organisations we cover are declined.
Separation of editorial and commercial
Advertising and sponsorship decisions are made without editorial involvement, and editorial decisions are made without commercial involvement. Advertisers receive no notice of coverage, no right of review and no ability to have an article changed or removed. Commercial content is labelled clearly, is not written by our editorial staff, and is excluded from our news feeds.
Use of artificial intelligence
We use software tools, including machine assisted research and drafting tools, in the production of our work. Their use does not change where responsibility sits: a named human editor is accountable for every published sentence, every figure is checked against a primary source by a person, and no article is published on the basis of a model’s unverified assertion. We do not publish synthetic quotations, and any illustration generated by software is used only where a photograph would be decorative rather than evidentiary.
What we do not publish
We do not publish personalised investment, tax or legal advice, price targets, or recommendations to buy or sell any security. We do not publish speculative claims about identifiable individuals’ private lives. We do not publish material obtained through deception by our own staff.
Complaints
Readers who believe this policy has been breached may raise the matter through our contact page. Complaints are assessed by an editor not involved in the original piece, and substantiated breaches result in a published correction or, where warranted, a fuller editor’s note explaining what went wrong.