Effective date: September 1, 2026
Our commitment
We use artificial intelligence thoughtfully and only as a supporting tool. AI may help us improve the presentation, accuracy, and accessibility of our work, but it does not replace human authorship, editorial judgment, or accountability.
Articles and posts published on this website are written and approved by people. A human author or editor remains responsible for everything we publish.
Acceptable uses of AI
We may use AI-assisted tools for limited purposes, including:
- Correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, and typographical errors.
- Suggesting copy edits that improve clarity or readability without changing the author’s meaning, opinions, or conclusions.
- Helping locate cited references or identify citations that require review.
- Formatting references, citations, metadata, and other supporting information.
- Assisting with transcription or translation, subject to human review.
- Suggesting headlines, summaries, image descriptions, or accessibility text.
- Creating images or illustrations to accompany articles and posts.
- Supporting preliminary research, brainstorming, or organization.
AI output is treated as a suggestion—not as an authoritative source. Before publication, a person reviews and approves any AI-assisted material.
Reference and fact verification
AI may assist us in locating sources or identifying information that needs verification. It is not considered an independent verifier.
Citations, quotations, statistics, and material factual claims must be checked by a person against the original or another authoritative source. We will not knowingly publish fabricated quotations, references, statistics, interviews, or other information produced by an AI system.
Uses of AI that we prohibit
We will not use AI for:
- Ghostwriting articles, opinion pieces, or posts.
- Automatically creating and publishing content without human involvement.
- Posting comments or responses to comments.
- Creating fake accounts, testimonials, endorsements, reviews, votes, or other artificial engagement.
- Impersonating an author, contributor, reader, or other person.
- Fabricating interviews, quotations, eyewitness accounts, sources, or research.
- Making final editorial decisions.
- Making decisions about contributors, complaints, corrections, or moderation sanctions without meaningful human review.
- Creating or altering images in ways intended to mislead readers about real people or events.
- Presenting synthetic material as documentary evidence.
- Concealing material AI involvement from readers.
AI will not be credited as an author or contributor because it cannot accept responsibility for published work.
Images and illustrations
AI-generated or substantially AI-modified images may be used as illustrations when appropriate. Such images will be clearly identified as AI-generated or AI-assisted when their origin may be relevant to a reader’s understanding.
We will not use AI to create deceptive representations of real events, impersonate real people, or alter documentary or news photographs in a materially misleading way. We may use AI to generate depictions of historically significant figures and/or events to illustrate the historical context of an article; such use will clearly be labelled as an AI generated illustration.
We will make all reasonable efforts to respect copyrights, trademarks, publicity rights, and applicable license terms. We will not intentionally use AI to imitate a living artist’s distinctive style or to remove attribution from another person’s work.
Privacy and confidential information
We will not knowingly submit the following to an external AI service without appropriate authorization and safeguards:
- Personal or sensitive information.
- Passwords, credentials, or private account information.
- Private correspondence.
- Confidential business information.
- Unpublished submissions or contributor materials.
- Copyrighted material that we do not have permission to use.
Any AI service we use must be appropriate for the sensitivity of the information involved.
Human oversight and accountability
A person must review AI-assisted material before it is published. Human review includes, as appropriate:
- Confirming facts, quotations, and references.
- Checking for misleading statements or omitted context.
- Reviewing for bias, unfairness, and potentially harmful representations.
- Confirming that the material reflects the author’s intended meaning.
- Checking for possible privacy, copyright, and attribution concerns.
The author or editor—not the AI provider—is accountable for the final published work.
Disclosure
Routine spelling, grammar, punctuation, or formatting assistance generally will not receive a separate disclosure.
We will disclose AI use when it materially contributes to published content or could affect a reader’s interpretation of that content. Disclosures will be written in plain language and placed reasonably close to the relevant article, image, or material.
A disclosure may identify:
- The type of AI-assisted material.
- The purpose for which AI was used.
- The extent of the AI contribution.
- The human review or verification that was performed.
- Contributors and third parties
Guest authors, freelancers, contractors, and other contributors must follow this policy for material submitted to the website. They must disclose any material use of generative AI before publication.
Submitting undisclosed AI-generated writing as original human-authored work may result in rejection or removal of the material.
Corrections and reader concerns
If AI-assisted material is found to be inaccurate, misleading, improperly attributed, or otherwise inconsistent with this policy, we will review it and take appropriate action. This may include correcting, labeling, replacing, or removing the material.
Readers are encouraged to contact us if they have questions or concerns about possible AI use or the accuracy of published content.
Scope and updates
For purposes of this policy, “AI” includes generative and AI-assisted systems capable of producing or substantially modifying text, images, audio, video, or other content.
This policy does not necessarily cover ordinary software features—such as traditional spell-checking, search, or citation-management tools—unless those features generate or substantially alter content.
AI technology and publishing practices continue to change. We may revise this policy to reflect new risks, capabilities, and standards. The effective date above will be updated when material changes are made.