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Editorial standards

AI & Synthetic Content Policy

How we use AI in our journalism — and how readers can hold us accountable.

Our promise

Artificial intelligence is a tool in our newsroom, not a substitute for journalism. Every article that uses AI assistance — for translation, summarization, image generation, voice synthesis, headline drafting, or copy editing — carries a visible disclosure on the article page. The disclosure tells you exactly which kinds of AI were used and what they did.

We do not publish AI-generated journalism without a human editor's name attached. Every claim, quote, and fact is verified by a journalist who is responsible for the story.

What we disclose

We label every form of AI involvement using the categories below. The disclosure badge on each article shows exactly which categories applied, in plain language, in your reading language.

an AI-generated image

High
image_generated

AI voice narration

Medium
voice_synthesized

AI-assisted translation

Medium
translation

an AI-generated summary

Medium
summary

AI-assisted headline

Low
headline

AI-assisted copy editing

Low
copy_edit

AI research assistance

Low
research_assist

When we never use AI

  • To impersonate a real person's voice or likeness without their explicit consent.
  • To fabricate quotes from named sources.
  • To generate images of identifiable people in scenarios that did not occur.
  • For investigative journalism's primary reporting — sources, documents, and verification are always human-led.
  • For content during election silent periods (per ECI guidelines).

If we get it wrong

If you spot an article using AI without a disclosure, or a disclosure that you believe misrepresents what AI did, please tell us. Every correction is logged at /corrections and a published response will appear there within our standard correction SLA.

Compliance

This policy aligns with:

  • India IT Rules 2025 amendment — synthetic content disclosure mandate
  • BBC Editorial Guideline #14 — AI & synthetic media
  • Reuters Trust Principles — transparency & accountability
  • DPDP Act 2023 — when AI training uses reader data, retention windows apply (see privacy policy)

Last reviewed: May 2026. Vocabulary maintained at config/ai_disclosure_kinds.php.