Ethics & Independence
The Jolt Journal exists to explain technology and money in plain English, so readers can make better decisions. That only works if you can trust what we publish. These are the standards every story is held to, and what we do when we fall short.
Independence
- We decide what to cover and what to say about it. Advertisers, affiliate partners and the companies we write about do not.
- Nobody outside The Jolt Journal sees a story before it is published, and we do not accept conditions on coverage.
- We never rank products by the commission they might earn us.
Read exactly how we make money on our How Jolt Journal Is Funded page.
No paid placements dressed up as journalism
We do not take money to cover a company, mention a product or place a link in a story. If we ever publish something a sponsor has paid for, it is labelled “Sponsored” or “Partner content” at the top and wherever it appears on the site, and it names who paid. Stories with affiliate links say so.
Conflicts of interest
Anyone who writes or edits for us must tell the editor about anything that could affect, or look like it affects, their work: shares or other investments in a company they write about, paid work for that company or its rivals, or a personal relationship with the people involved. Where a conflict could matter to readers, we either give the story to someone else or tell you about it in the story itself, in a line that starts “Disclosure:”.
Gifts and samples
- We do not accept gifts, payments, paid trips or other favours from companies we cover.
- If we review a product a company provided, we say so in the review. Companies don’t get to see or approve our coverage before it’s published, and we don’t accept payment for coverage.
Telling you what kind of story it is
Every story is labelled at the top, next to its section: News, Analysis, Opinion, Review, Guide or Explainer. News reports what happened. Analysis explains what it means, based on the evidence. Opinion is the writer’s own view, and says so. Explainers set out the background to a subject. Guides help you make a decision, and say when they were last checked.
Accuracy and fairness
We check facts against primary sources and link to them in the text, so you can check them too. When we cannot confirm something, we say so and say who claims it, or we leave it out. We never invent quotes, people, studies or experiences. When we report criticism of a person or company, we include their response where one exists. Headlines say what the story shows: no clickbait, no question the story does not answer, no exaggeration. Read our Fact-Checking Policy.
Our finance coverage explains how things work. It is not personal financial advice, and money stories say so.
How we handle mistakes
Every story ends with a “Report an error” link. When we get something wrong, we fix it and add a dated note at the end of the story saying what changed: a correction, a clarification or an update. Every note is also listed on our Corrections page. We do not quietly change facts. Read our Corrections Policy.
Respecting your privacy
Some links on The Jolt Journal are affiliate links, through Skimlinks and through partner programs we join. If you buy something after clicking one, we may earn a commission; How Jolt Journal Is Funded explains how this works. We respect the privacy signals your browser sends: if your browser sends Global Privacy Control, Skimlinks does not turn any of our links into affiliate links, and our stories do not load it at all. Our own measurement of how far readers get through a story is switched off for browsers that send Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control. Read our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.
Who is responsible
Hamza Khalid, Editor-in-Chief and Founder of The Jolt Journal, is responsible for these standards and approves every story before it is published. Some stories are published under a desk name, such as the Tech Desk or the Finance Desk, instead of a person’s name; those stories name the editor who approved them. If you think we have fallen short of these standards, tell us through our contact page.