Editorial policy and use of AI

This policy explains how TheBizNews chooses, writes, checks and corrects its stories, and how our desk uses artificial intelligence. It applies to every story, The Brief and our explainers.

Our principles

• Plain and factual. Short sentences, the key fact first, no exclamation marks, no teaser headlines. Headlines are in sentence case and no longer than 75 characters.
• Sourced. Every story names the outlet whose report it is based on and links to that report.
• Open about automation. Stories are written with the help of AI and published after automatic checks. No person reads them before publication, and every story says so.
• Corrected openly. When we get something wrong, we fix it and say so.

How we choose stories

We favor business and economy stories that many outlets are reporting, that are fresh, and that matter to readers in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland. We aim for a balance between sections every day. We do not publish live blogs, opinion columns, sponsored or partner content, horoscopes, lottery results, TV guides, quizzes, shopping deals and coupons, sport, celebrity gossip or gaming news. We do not publish the same story twice.

How we use AI

TheBizNews stories are written with AI tools. For each story, an AI model writes a version in plain English of a report published by a named outlet: in its own words when the report is in English, or as an English version when it is in another language. An AI model may also suggest the topics a story belongs to.

Stories are published automatically: no person reads them before publication. A story goes live only when it passes these automatic checks:

• it is business or economy news, not sport, celebrity news, a live blog, opinion, sponsored content or a story with no business angle;
• the original report is no more than three days old and our version is long enough to inform;
• every number in our version appears in the source;
• a weekday and a date named together match, and the headline matches the text;
• the headline is no longer than 75 characters and the story has a standfirst;
• it does not contain known outdated titles, such as a former office holder named as the current one.

A story that fails a check is left out or held. A held story is published only after a member of the desk has checked it. Every story says, in its source box, that it was written with the help of AI and was not read by a person before publication.

Verification

Each story is based on one report from a news outlet, which we name and link so that you can compare. No person verifies the facts of a story before it is published, so a story can contain errors: our automatic checks hold a story when a number in it is not in the source, when a weekday and a date do not match, or when the headline does not match the text. When an error is reported to us or we find one, we correct the story and add a dated note, listed on our corrections page.

Images

We never show the original publisher’s photos. Our pictures come from openly licensed collections such as Wikimedia Commons, from Pexels, from official press kits or from news agencies, always with their credit and, when the license requires it, a link to the license. When no suitable picture exists, we use our own artwork, labeled “Illustration”.

Some stories without a suitable licensed photo are illustrated with an AI-generated image (Google Gemini) from our shared illustration library. These images are labeled as illustrations, never show the real people, places or events of the story, and are replaced as soon as a real photo is available.

Corrections and takedowns

If we make a mistake, we correct the story and add a dated note under it explaining what changed. All notes are listed on our corrections page. Simple typos are fixed without a note. If a story cannot be corrected, or if a rights holder or a person concerned makes a justified request, we remove it: its address then answers that the story has been removed. To report an error or request a takedown, see our contact page.

Independence and ethics

TheBizNews is not affiliated with any party, government or company it covers. Advertising, once switched on, is clearly labeled and never influences our choice of stories. We do not accept payment for coverage. Our stories are general information, not investment advice. Stories are signed by the TheBizNews desk, or by a named editor who edited them; we never invent authors.

Bylines

Each named editor has an author page with their role and how to contact them. The byline “TheBizNews desk” means that the story was published under this policy without a named editor; it does not mean that a person read it before publication.