Universal News is committed to the highest standards of journalism. These principles are not aspirational — they are operational. Every piece of content published on this platform is reviewed against these standards before publication.
- Accuracy: All facts, statistics, and quotes must be verified through at least two independent, authoritative sources before publication.
- Fairness: We seek comment from all parties named in critical coverage and represent multiple perspectives on contested issues.
- Independence: Editorial decisions are made solely by the Editorial team. Advertisers, government officials, and commercial partners have no influence over news content.
- Transparency: We disclose the sources of information, the limitations of our reporting, and any conflicts of interest.
- Harm Minimisation: We balance the public's right to know against potential harm to individuals, particularly vulnerable people.
- Accountability: We hold ourselves to the same standards of scrutiny that we apply to those we cover.
Universal News uses a multi-layer verification system combining human editorial judgment and AI-assisted fact-checking tools. Our fact-check status system classifies stories as:
- Verified: All key claims independently confirmed by two or more authoritative sources.
- Pending Review: Story is published but one or more claims are still being verified.
- Contested: Story involves disputed claims where multiple credible interpretations exist.
- Developing: Rapidly evolving situation where facts are still emerging.
Universal News uses AI tools to assist journalists — not to replace them. AI is used for:
- Research assistance and source identification
- Bias detection in draft content
- Translation and multilingual coverage
- Data analysis and visualisation
- Generating summaries and headlines for editorial review
AI-generated content is always reviewed and edited by a qualified journalist before publication. We label content that involved significant AI assistance in its production.
We identify sources clearly wherever possible. When sources request anonymity, we evaluate whether the public interest benefit of the information justifies protecting the source's identity. We do not grant anonymity routinely — only when the source faces credible risk of harm for speaking publicly, and when the information cannot be obtained on the record.