Editorial Guidelines

FACT-CHECKING AND CORRECTIONS POLICY

We, at EssentiallySports, strictly adhere to the Editorial Standards expected of us and are accepted universally through what is stipulated in our “Editorial Guidelines”.

EssentiallySports furnishes news and content from a diverse range of sources. We undertake stringent efforts to confirm the veracity of the information that is available in the world of the internet and social media, only then do we proceed to create content for the general public.

Our internal policies set the standards for creating relevant Ever-lasting and Topical content through stringent fact-checking and allied editorial policies. EssentiallySports shall always strive to provide content that is authentic, need of the hour, resourceful etc; our Editorial team plays an important role in pursuing our goal in creating a reliable and thought-provoking experience for the consumers.

As much as selecting the right source providers is important, verification and fact-checking internal standards signify high-quality journalism. We have a thorough process in verifying, citing and crediting such sources, when we deal with or without primary sources that we obtain directly. Throughout this process, our ‘Editorial Leadership’ works closely with our content creators to produce quality content, reliable and equitable content.

1) How EssentiallySports Approaches Editing and Fact-checking

At EssentiallySports, editors are the highest authority in content. Our editors ensure that the quality of every article is of the highest standard, in addition to ensuring that there is ample technical knowledge for avid sports fans. 

Our internal policies set the standards for creating content through sources. EssentiallySports always strives to provide content that is authentic, the need of the hour, and resourceful. Sources play an important role in our goal of creating a reliable and thought-provoking experience for the consumers.

Process before publishing an article

A proposed article is evaluated by an Editor, who can choose to either publish, correct, or reject the proposed article. When reviewing an article, Editors shall ensure that:

• The sources cited in the article are correct, and that the article’s information is accurate and true.
• The content does not violate any legal framework, universally.
• The information or content created is original and unplagiarized. 
• The furnished content or articles are well-written and necessitate attention.
• The content’s headline and subheadings are relevant, resourceful, and not click-baits.

Citations and Attributions

Citations include stipulated information or links to the original source on which the article is based. To maintain credibility, the news sources from which information is taken are externally linked in all articles. If the existing articles on the ES website are relevant to the article that is to be published, then they are internally linked. 

What sources should be cited:

• Any verifiable claims that are based on reported events.
• Any third-party published material to which the piece refers in a substantial way.
• Anything being used to justify or elaborate on the core narrative or statement in the story.
• Sources that are required in order to distinguish between the opinions of the writers and the specialist knowledge of others. 
• Secondary sources, such as other news stories, are used case-by-case basis; as they appropriately add value and give due credit to work derived from local or other sources.
• We also resort to statistical data to enhance our internal checks by cross-checking with the relevant source. 

How does ES verify if a news source or the secondary source is reputed or not?

• The companies should have verified Social Media Pages (blue tick in front of their handle).
• The heads of each sport at ES have their own list of websites that are reputed and trustworthy sources. These lists have been compiled after extensive research.

* All secondary and tertiary sources we resort to shall meet the above two requirements.

Under our policies and guidelines, material from trusted sources may be used only if:

1. The material is information, and not opinion or speculation, and is vital to the news report.
2. The source is reliable, and in a position to have accurate information.
3. Only videos are usually taken from trusted accounts and the relevant internal authority shall approve any piece of information that comes from a trusted account only. 

Interviews/Podcasts

Interviews and podcasts generally consist of first-hand quotes and are a major part of ES articles. However, there is a set of rules that we follow while covering any piece of content from the mentioned sources:

• We only use the original source of the interview to give as a reference. 
• We do not change either the context or the original form of the quote. 
• When adding quotes to our article titles, we make sure they are not taken out of context.

Standards we uphold around Fact-checking

EssentiallySports may not be a direct affiliate or a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). However, we at EssentiallySports understand and acknowledge the importance of such an initiative and streamline our internal standards in a way that shall meet the standards set by IFCN. The principles/standards we strongly intend to internalise and commit to:

• We intend to fact-check using the same high standards of evidence and judgement for equivalent claims regardless of who made the claim.
• EssentiallySports is not affiliated with nor declares or shows support for any party, politician, or political entity anywhere in the world. 
• EssentiallySports identifies the source of all significant evidence used in their fact checks, providing relevant links where the source is available online, in such a way that users can replicate their work if they wish. In cases where identifying the source would compromise the source’s personal security, the applicant shall be in sync with the source’s safety.
• EssentiallySports shall clearly stipulate if there exists funding of information on our platform, and shall be clearly marked as ‘Sponsored’ or other relevant terminology. 
• EssentiallySports shall be compliant at all times to the methodology stipulated in this policy document and shall update to the relevant standards expected in the fact-checking domain standards. 
• More importantly, EssentiallySports shall adhere to honest and ethical standards stipulated below with respect to, Corrections required on a mistake of fact and other errors encompassing in the Media hemisphere.

2) Corrections Policy at EssentiallySports

At EssentiallySports, we strive to ensure that the information we furnish is accurate, verified and equitable. But in case a mistake or an error is made, we recognize the importance of acknowledging the same and working towards rectifying the error. We also encourage our readers and contributors to provide us with feedback on any of our content.

The hallmark of quality and responsible journalism is the ability to hold oneself accountable, and also acknowledge the need for prompt corrections when errors are discovered. Thus, EssentiallySports is dedicated to providing the correct information as soon as a mistake is brought to attention.

What is done when an error is spotted or reported in an Article?

• When an error is detected within an article, we immediately work to find the correct information and show the corrections wherever appropriate, within the article. 
• When our information is factually correct with an ambiguous explanation of those facts, the language shall be rewritten even after the piece is published. 
• When an error is found by a reader and posted to the comments section in an article, the editor shall duly take note of that and the error shall be rectified in the article.
• If we publish erroneous information on social media, we shall duly proceed with the same process as stipulated above, as per the platform’s mechanism.
• If there exists a correction that changes the entire context of an article, we shall necessitate an editor’s note to the article, with the addition of an explanation of why the rectification was required.
• If a reader or any other entity says that the information presented in an article is inaccurate, we shall first investigate and, if absolutely necessary, take down the piece. If the article warrants only rectification, the article shall be updated with the rectified information.