1. Content Philosophy
PMC is committed to upholding high ethical standards in everything we publish. In today’s media landscape, we believe it is more important than ever to preserve humanity in journalism and to take a responsible, conscientious approach that ensures our work does not inflict harm on others.
This policy sets out the principles and practical standards that guide our editorial team and writers. It applies to all content published under the PMC network, including articles, headlines, embeds, and social content.
2. Editorial Ethics
PMC follows the five core principles of ethical journalism, as outlined by the Ethical Journalism Network, and endeavours to follow the guidance set out by the Society of Professional Journalists in their Code of Ethics.
1. Truth & Accuracy While we cannot guarantee absolute “truth,” we will always endeavour to get our facts right and strive for accuracy. When we cannot corroborate information, we say so.
2. Independence Our writers do not act, formally or informally, on behalf of special interests — whether political, corporate, or cultural. Editors must be made aware of any conflicts of interest and act accordingly.
3. Fairness & Impartiality Articles should be balanced, provide context, and represent relevant perspectives fairly.
4. Humanity Journalists should do no harm. We remain aware of the impact our words can have on the lives of others, and take special care when reporting on sensitive issues or those that may cause distress. If an article cannot be written without causing unnecessary pain to others, we do not write it.
5. Accountability When we make mistakes, PMC corrects them and offers a sincere expression of regret where appropriate. We listen to our audience’s concerns and provide remedies when we have been unfair.
PMC will not intrude on individuals’ right to privacy. We handle issues involving grief with sensitivity, will not speculate about causes of death, and when reporting on suicide, will not give excessive detail about method.
3. Handling Sensitive Topics
PMC editors give meticulous review to any content touching on the following themes before publication, to ensure quality, accuracy, and fairness:
- Rude language and slang
- Law and lawsuits — including ongoing and past court cases
- Sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and other forms of abuse
- Violence, crime, and gore
- Allegations and unproven claims
- Racism, transphobia, homophobia, bullying, and hate crimes
- War and conflict
- Anything else editors deem may cause reasonable offence to a reader
Rumours, Speculation, and Allegations Where a story involves rumour, speculation, or allegation, PMC will reach out to all parties involved. If a response is received, we will add it to the story and update accordingly. Rumour must never be presented as fact — where reported from a legitimate and specified source, this must be made clear both in the headline and body text.
4. Fact-Checking Standards
PMC maintains a dedicated editorial team whose primary role is to ensure the accuracy of content our writers produce. To prevent inaccurate or misleading content, we require that:
- Writers credit and link to the source of any information they report.
- Writers question the validity of sources and take particular care with information touching on sensitive or controversial topics.
- Writers follow PMC guidance on which sources are, and are not, considered credible.
- Writers do not cover topics where they lack sufficient knowledge to report accurately.
- Writers clearly distinguish between opinion, conjecture, and fact.
- Editors review articles across the network and seek confirmation for any claims they believe may be inaccurate.
Where PMC publishes inaccurate or misleading information, we respond swiftly to remedy the situation (see Section 8, Corrections).
5. Clickbait & Headline Standards
PMC stands firmly opposed to any form of clickbait. Writers are given guidance to prevent sensationalism and misleading headlines, and our editorial team ensures these guidelines are met. Breaches are resolved swiftly through article editing or deletion, and disciplinary action is taken against writers who intentionally employ clickbait tactics.
Writers must:
- Not claim to provide information in a headline that is not present in the article.
- Not create intentionally misleading or cryptic headlines.
- Not pack headlines with keywords irrelevant to the article.
- Make clear in the headline when reporting rumour (from a legitimate, specified source) that it is rumour, not fact.
- Not present speculation as fact.
- Avoid sensationalist language in headlines — PMC maintains a list of restricted terms for writer reference.
6. Plagiarism
PMC takes a zero-tolerance approach to plagiarism. Any writer found to have used the work of others without accreditation will face immediate disciplinary action.
7. Embeds in Articles
All embeds, including those from social media, must follow PMC’s editorial guidelines. We do not include embeds — such as tweets — that feature swear words, nudity, violence, or unproven accusations of wrongdoing. This restriction also applies to usernames visible within embeds.
8. Spoilers
Articles containing spoilers must include a spoiler warning, placed at the start of the article or at the earliest possible point before spoiler content appears.
9. Explicit Content
PMC does not cover content that links to pornography, sex, nudity, or general explicit material. We do not report on any issue, theme, rumour, speculation, or claim based on X-rated content in any capacity.
10. Corrections
PMC is committed to correcting mistakes promptly. We are responsive to reader feedback and take all concerns seriously.
Our editorial and management teams are responsible for ensuring errors are swiftly identified and remedied. In addition to editorial checks prior to publication, our editorial team routinely audits published articles for factual accuracy.