Editorial standards

Sourcing and attribution

We report from the documents, statements, data and published reports behind each story, and we attribute every fact to the person, organisation or document it comes from. Where our reporting draws on another publication’s work, we say so and we write our own account; we do not reproduce another outlet’s article.

Verification

A story’s central claims are checked against independent sources before it is published, and the more serious the claim, the more sources it needs. Deaths, injuries, crimes, allegations against named people and market-moving figures need at least three independent sources. Policy, disputes, significant sums of money and court cases need at least two. A serious claim that one of our sources contradicts is not published as fact.

Timeliness

We publish news while it is news: we do not publish a news report whose newest source is more than a day old. Every story shows when it was published and, if its text has changed since, when it was last updated.

Bylines

Stories written by a named journalist carry that journalist’s name, linked to a page about them. Stories produced by the newsroom as a whole are published under the name of The India Decade. We never publish under an invented name.

Pictures

We publish photographs only where their licence allows it, and we credit the photographer or the source. Where no suitable photograph exists we use a plain typographic card rather than an image that could be mistaken for a picture of the event. We do not publish synthetic images presented as photographs.

News, analysis and opinion

Opinion appears only in the Opinion section and is labelled as such. Everything else we publish is news reporting or explanation.

Corrections

We correct errors in the story itself, and every change to a published story is kept in a permanent version history. To tell us about an error, write to editor@theindiadecade.com; our corrections policy sets out what happens next.

Complaints

If you believe something we have published breaks these standards, you can complain to our grievance officer at grievance@theindiadecade.com. We acknowledge every complaint within 24 hours and send a decision within 15 days.

Responsibility

Our editor is responsible for everything The India Decade publishes, and can be reached at editor@theindiadecade.com.