Mongabay’s editorial standards rely upon guidelines and policies from many professional journalism associations, news outlets, and wire services, including:

• Society of Professional Journalists
• Institute of Nonprofit News
• Associated Press News Values
• National Association of Science Writers

These sources remain to be primary reference materials used to inform editorial decisions and ethical behavior at Mongabay. Additional research of the Ethical Journalism Networks’ Accountable Journalism Database was used to reference many additional international standards. In cases where policy from another source is adopted, attribution is provided.

News Principles

Truth

Mongabay’s highest obligation is to accurately convey facts and reality in our reporting. A commitment to evidence in the pursuit of the truth is the foundation of Mongabay’s credibility and reliability as a news source.

To maintain our trustworthiness, Mongabay cites sources, checks facts, and identifies bias as well as conflicts of interest in our reporting. While gathering information, Mongabay maintains a professional skepticism and seeks out original, primary sources whenever feasible. If primary sources are not accessible, Mongabay works to verify the authenticity and credibility of secondary sources of information.

Mongabay takes accountability for mistakes or imprecision in our published reporting by expediently correcting errors and transparently documenting the changes made within the articles. Mongabay staff and contributors must never knowingly distort facts or introduce false information.

Mongabay encourages staff, contributors, and audience members to refer to the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics as a basis for interpreting the following policies and guidance about Mongabay’s journalistic practices.

Independence

Mongabay works in the public interest by creating and advancing knowledge about matters that can impact everyone, notably the conservation of nature, the value of biodiversity, and the role of healthy ecosystems in sustaining humanity. As this purpose involves holding powerful individuals and institutions accountable for their actions, Mongabay must maintain the independence of its journalism from outside influence.

Mongabay subscribes to standards of editorial independence and donor transparency adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News. Mongabay retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of the organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue to ensure editorial judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any other revenue source. We do not give supporters the right to assign, review, or edit content.

Mongabay also maintains independence from our sources. We don’t allow completed reports to be shared with sources for review. Relevant portions of reports may be communicated to verify facts or inform response when Mongabay requests comment.

To support editorial independence, Mongabay maintains a diversity of donors and financing streams for our journalism and commits to transparency in every aspect of our funding by publishing updated information on Mongabay.org and disclosing potential conflicts of interest within articles. Mongabay does accept gifts, grants, and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to fund our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects.

Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses. We will not accept donations from sources that present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our editorial independence.

Fairness

Mongabay supports a healthy exchange of views and includes a diversity of information sources in its coverage. Mongabay is not an advocacy organization and seeks to convey all relevant points of view in our reporting. Disagreement alone is never a just rationale to exclude a particular viewpoint. As a journalism organization, Mongabay depends upon and asserts a right to freedom of expression and access to information through its very existence.

The fairness of reporting depends upon effectively conveying the context in which news events are taking place. Mongabay recognizes false balance as a form of media bias. In accordance with the National Association of Science Writers’ ethics policies, Mongabay acknowledges and communicates when scientific methods have established facts that are no longer questioned by the majority of reputable scientists involved.

Content published on Mongabay’s platforms is clearly distinguished between news, opinion, and analysis. If an organization or individual is criticized or accused of wrongdoing in our reporting, Mongabay will offer a genuine opportunity to respond prior to publication and will describe our effort to obtain comment if none is provided.

Reverence

Mongabay’s news is inspired by nature, and a reverence for natural wonder is an intrinsic part of our mission to raise awareness of the Earth’s most critical ecosystems. We recognize place and geography as an important dimension of Mongabay’s journalism and prioritize coverage of locations, wildlife, and people underrepresented or marginalized in news reporting.

We reject the notion that humans are separate from nature and seek to explore both the multitude of connections between people and the environment and the undeniable impact of human action on planetary health and sustainability. Mongabay’s reverence for nature extends to respect for all living things.

Ethics policy

Mongabay staff and its contributors agree to abide by the guidelines articulated in the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. The ethics articulated in Mongabay’s principles of editorial decision making also inform the professional behavior of the individuals and organizations that engage in Mongabay’s journalism.

Editorial fundraising firewall

Mongabay retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a separation between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue to ensure news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any other revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.

Conflict of interest and disclosure policy

Anyone working with Mongabay – both employees and freelance contributors – must take care to avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest. This includes not accepting payment, employment, paid or unpaid assignments, gifts, favors, or junkets from current or potential news sources. External financial support for travel expenses must be disclosed to the assigning Mongabay editor prior to the start of reporting activities. Furthermore, disclosure of any relevant outside affiliations and financial interests should be done on a story-by-story basis. Please use this form to do so.

Certain outside affiliations and financial interests may bar a freelancer from working for Mongabay or from covering certain topics except as an unpaid commentary. These include paid or volunteer work with an organization covered in a story or with a stake in an issue covered in a story. Past work with news sources or outside affiliations and financial interests may require disclosure in a story. These decisions are at the editor’s discretion.

Mongabay acknowledges that conflicts of interest are not always clear cut. When in doubt, writers should consult with their editor about what may constitute a conflict of interest.

Mongabay reserves the right to terminate a work assignment or professional relationship with a contributor if undisclosed conflicts of interest come to light at any point during the editorial process or after publication.

Fact Checking

Sourcing, plagiarism and attribution guidelines

Mongabay is transparent about how we source the information in our stories. This continuous effort to attribute information to its original source shows respect to those whose research Mongabay relies upon, the journalists who report complementary information, and our audience who depend upon Mongabay to inform their understanding and decision-making.

In principle, reporters should cite sources for every statement of fact in their article. This attribution includes describing the names and titles of individuals cited, the location where information is sourced from (a publication, social media platform, a place, or press release) and how the reporter obtained the information (from an interview, in writing, though original analysis). Within the body of the article, references to online sources should be hyperlinked within the text.

Facts that are considered to be “common knowledge” may not require a specific citation. However, there is no general standard definition of common knowledge, and Mongabay’s global audience makes it challenging to assess how ubiquitous knowledge is. We recommend journalists that work with Mongabay to be more generous when citing sources for their statements and request input from their editor when in doubt.

Mongabay’s commitment to citing sources is also evident in our inclusion of citations at the end of every story that references a published academic journal article. Mongabay follows the American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines for citing academic literature. Guidance and examples of how to format these citations are available in Mongabay’s Copy Style Guide.

Plagiarism

Simply put, plagiarism is never acceptable.  A reporter’s intentional misrepresentation of others’ work as their own will result in disciplinary action and will likely lead to the end of a professional relationship with Mongabay. Unintentional plagiarism must be corrected following Mongabay’s guidelines on corrections.

The recommended way to minimize the risks of plagiarism is to attribute information to its source. This recommendation applies to paraphrased passages and direct quotations alike. For statements that are considered common knowledge, originality in phrasing is vital as verbatim and unattributed use of already published copy is inappropriate in almost all circumstances.

Unattributed reuse of short passages of a reporter’s own work or published work within Mongabay is permissible in situations where stories share a common background, and the same subject matter needs to be repetitively explained. It is essential to keep this reuse as short as possible, and for reporters to flag such passages for their editors. Do not pitch Mongabay an article that is already published in another outlet.

Fabrication or falsification of any material is cause for immediate termination.

Anonymous sources

Mongabay rarely grants anonymity since most circumstances do not warrant granting this request. There are legitimate reasons to do so, however, primarily a legitimate fear of reprisal or other material harm resulting from being a named source. Source requests to provide off-the-record or background information more candidly must be judged based on an assessment of the importance of the information and the source’s reliability.

Mongabay staff should confer with editorial leadership (director level or above) about such requests before agreeing to provide anonymity, as there are significant implications to fulfilling this obligation.

Establishing informed consent with a source upfront is crucial. This needs to involve at least one discussion about what is on-the-record and what is being provided as background information and the extent to which anonymity places restrictions on the types of information that can be reported. Mongabay abides by the definitions for on-the-record, off-the-record, background, and deep background articulated by the Associated Press in their policies on anonymous sources.

Examples of conditions that apply to the use of anonymous sources include:

• Mongabay’s reason for granting this anonymity request will be published, which may include contextual details needed for readers to assess the source’s credibility;
• Mongabay editors may need to be aware of the identity of the source;
• Mongabay editors will apply increased scrutiny to derogatory comments attributed to an anonymous source;
• Reporters should be aware that they may potentially be compelled to testify in court should defamation or any other legal action be brought against Mongabay.

Undercover reporting

Undercover reporting requires deception, which presents an ethical conundrum for all journalists who consider undertaking it. Honesty and truthfulness are fundamental for trustworthiness, so employing false pretense to reveal the truth is inherently risky.

Mongabay also recognizes that undercover reporting techniques can reveal truths that are otherwise impossible to obtain. For this reason, undercover reporting should only be considered when it presents the only viable means for obtaining relevant information once all other avenues have been exhausted.

• To learn more about the history of undercover reporting, please visit this database of articles collected by the NYU Libraries.

Corrections, clarifications, and updates

Mongabay publishes daily in multiple languages by working with a global and multi-cultural team. Everyone working with Mongabay shares a common commitment to publish in an accurate, honest, and ethical manner. We also recognize that mistakes can happen, and Mongabay must be accountable for errors.

Here are the following actions Mongabay takes to be accountable for mistakes:

• Advise staff and contributors to prioritize accuracy, clarity, and precision in their journalism.
• Include both private feedback forms and public comments sections on each post so avenues for reaching Mongabay’s editors are easily accessible.
• Respond quickly to feedback that indicates information in an article is erroneous or imprecise.
• Post public corrections at the bottom of stories in a timely fashion. The corrections should explain what was changed to address the error.
• Be transparent about the journalistic considerations that went into the original editorial choices when explaining why it a change was necessary.

Guidelines for writing and formatting corrections is available in the Mongabay Copy Style Guide.