Ethics Policy
The Daily Dot’s first and most important responsibility is accuracy. We make every reasonable effort to verify information by publication time and we disclose to readers transparently what we do and do not know to be a fact. Should we receive information that questions something we have published, we will not rest until we have established the veracity of that information and corrected the record.
Corrections
Corrections will be made to the original story clearly and with explanation. In regard to material details being corrected well after publication, we will publicize the changes in a manner similar to the original publication of the story.
Social Media
The Daily Dot may, in its sole editorial discretion, publish any statements or information shared in a public forum, including, without limitation, statements and information shared on social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. When information shared in public is of a sensitive nature, the Daily Dot will weigh the newsworthiness of the information against the author’s reasonable expectations of that information finding a wider audience in its original form. In its sole judgment, the Daily Dot may seek further comment, withhold personal or identifying information, or employ other procedures to be fair to both individuals and the public in such cases.
Transparency
The Daily Dot’s ultimate loyalty lies with readers. The Daily Dot and its employees will not change, spin, withhold, or otherwise manipulate the facts to please a source, advertiser, or other business partners. Individual employees will never manipulate the facts for any kind of personal relationship, and they will not put themselves in a position to profit, financially or otherwise, by their reporting.
We do not accept gifts or compensation of any kind—money, travel and entertainment, food, merchandise, or other services—in exchange for coverage of any product, service, or topic. All-inclusive industry events—more commonly known as “junkets”—are handled on a case-by-case basis, and proper disclosure will appear on any applicable coverage relating to them. All travel expenses for editorial coverage is covered by the Daily Dot.
Reviews
Daily Dot writers and editors often have the opportunity to test products, software, or samples for review purposes. All reviews carry an individual disclosure stating where the product came from. All reviews are assigned based on our editorial discretion.
We do not take review requests with preconditions, and we will never automatically review a product simply because it was sent to us by a company or individual. In the case of a pre-release product, Daily Dot writers honor embargos when applicable, though such agreements will never affect the content of the review or dictate whether it receives a recommendation.
The vast majority of products sent for review, most notably hardware such as phones, PC accessories, or laptops, are used for the purposes of the review and are returned promptly whenever possible. However, some devices may be kept for an extended period of time, as agreed upon by both the manufacturer and the writer and/or editor. In these cases, which are most common with game consoles where continued software reviews are appropriate, the devices remain the property of the manufacturer and are not to be kept indefinitely.
From time to time Daily Dot writers and editors may decide to review a product that has been purchased outright rather than sent to us for review. In these cases, the products are purchased by the writer or editor who is reviewing it. Any special circumstances will be clearly disclosed on the individual reviews.
Affiliate links
The Daily Dot Bazaar, our curation of deals, products, and services on the web, operates independently of the editorial and advertising. Bazaar items are hand-picked and products that we ourselves would purchase (and some of us already have). Bazaar articles are affiliated, meaning the Daily Dot may receive a small fee for purchases made from featured products. Affiliate marketing links may appear elsewhere on the Daily Dot, but those links are added post-publication, independent of editorial operations, and do not influence the reporting in any capacity.
Unless stated otherwise, the order is ranked based in part on our preference. We may, however, alter the order of products or services listed in our general guides in exchange for compensation from advertisers or in light of reader preferences. The brand does not have any review privileges or influence on the contents of the article. This effort allows us to remove ads from articles and provide a better user experience for our readers.
Advertising
Advertising provides the Daily Dot’s primary source of revenue. Our full Privacy Policy can be read here, but TL;DR: The Daily Dot will never ask editorial employees to write advertising copy, and all advertising throughout any Daily Dot publications will be clearly marked as such.
