Editorial Policy
Our activity is based on the following principles:
1. Credibility of information and verification of facts and sources
Our editors and journalists carefully check information before publication, separating facts from the opinions of individuals. We use various sources, both open and our own, to confirm the authenticity of the facts. Also, each material goes through several stages of approval before publication.
All facts that we publish must have indicated sources. We prefer our information that has earned the trust of our editors through our proven fact-checking approach.
We also provide hyperlinks to data from other media but choose only the sources with an impeccable reputation for reliability. We refrain from publishing information from Russian media without additional analysis. We avoid Ukrainian and foreign resources that post unclassified advertising or have a history of spreading fake news and manipulation.
Furthermore, we take special care in using press releases from government bodies, political parties, companies, and banks, subjecting them to additional analysis and supplementing information from alternative sources, providing context and understanding that a press release is not news.
Our team verifies information from social networks, paying attention to account verification, interest and possible conflicts of interest of the authors of posts and checking the authenticity of published documents, photos, and videos.
Moreover, when we publish the results of sociological studies and surveys, we provide comprehensive details such as:
name of the sociological service;
customer of the study;
time frame;
geographical coverage and methodology of the study;
number of respondents and groups they represent;
text of the questions and the answers of respondents;
all answer options;
margin of statistical error.
If it is necessary, we also publish the context that could influence the opinion of the respondents.
2. Accuracy, objectivity and balance
The editors of Online.ua pay special attention to the accuracy of quotations, names, titles, quantitative indicators and the reasoning of ratings, such as “first”, “best”, and “biggest”. We do not expose facts, estimates, and quotes out of context but present them precisely as they are published in the source.
We must reflect different points of view without avoiding hot topics and distorting the facts. We publish different opinions and assessments regardless of political, corporate and national affiliation.
Different points of view on conflicting topics are presented within the same material. If one of the parties did not promptly provide its position, we add its comment later in the current format at the time of publication. If one party refuses to comment, we note this and inform our readers.
We do not allow the spread of ideas that violate civil rights and freedoms, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, promote violence and any form of discrimination. Balance and equal access to coverage of positions does not mean equality for aggressors and victims of aggression, for terrorists and law enforcement officers.
No political force or commercial entity can have an advantage in representing its position. This principle applies to readers, advertisers, investors, and owners of Online.ua. We strive to ensure neutrality and objectivity in all aspects of our work.
3. Ethical norms
We refuse any form of promoting violence, hatred, and discrimination. Honour, dignity, and inviolability of private life are essential to us. Therefore, we do not allow offensive, xenophobic, racist, religious or defamatory statements about sexual orientation, individual physical or mental characteristics, as well as any other opinions that threaten the honour and dignity of a person.
4. Authority
We strive to be comprehensive in our documentation of events. To do this, we engage experts from various fields for comments and publish the opinions of specialists, which gives the reader an objective analysis of the situation and forms a personal statement.
Online.ua engages experts to analyse situations, events, and facts whose history of media publications confirms their professional, independent attitude and competence. If an expert appears to have any ties to the publication's subject, we disclose this potential conflict of interest to our readers.
5. Separation of facts from comments
Our editorial office continually strives to separate facts from comments and journalists' comments from experts' comments. We do not allow evaluation of editors and journalists in news, articles and other publications on the portal.
To attract the audience's attention to our publications, we sometimes allow the use of metaphors and wordplay in the titles. However, in any case, Online.ua does not use manipulative and evaluative headlines in the news.
6. Privacy
We respect the principle of inviolability of private life and adhere to it. We carefully collect information from our sources and are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of these sources. In each material, we provide the most complete information about the origin of information, taking into account each specific situation.
The corporate culture of Online.ua employees
Journalists and editors of Online.ua adhere to transparent principles and avoid conflicts of interest. They do not participate in political activities or use their status for personal purposes. The editors protect journalists from external pressure and attempt to influence their work.
Online.ua does not accept gifts worth more than the equivalent of $50 from individuals, businesses, and schools that may be sources of information or featured in publications.
If a journalist has a conflict of interest in any aspect of a publication, he/she notifies their supervisor. Such a notification will be included in the editorial as appropriate. The participation of journalists in events paid for by the organisers does not oblige the editors to publish the results of these events. Each employee, both full-time and freelance, cannot express their position while preparing materials. The editorial board decides about the publication.
Policy for the use of social networks:
We support the active use and filling of private accounts in social networks by our employees, both for communication with the audience and for personal purposes.
However, information posted on social networks should not discriminate against people based on race, colour, political, religious and other beliefs, gender, ethnic or social origin, property status, place of residence, language or other characteristics.
It is prohibited to publicise materials that incite ethnic or interreligious enmity and promote violence, either justifying or supporting full-scale aggression against Ukraine.
Also, the employees have the right to express their individual opinions about events and processes in the world on social media pages. However, the distribution of our portal's position in private accounts must be agreed upon with the editorial board.
Partnership projects
Online.ua often acts as an information partner for events that are of public interest and engaging for the publication's audience. It maintains the edition's reputation and provides valuable information to its readers.
Online.ua reserves the right to content within the information partnership, which means that the editorial board independently decides what kind of materials will be published. However, in the cooperation process with event organisers, the number of released material and their format is discussed.
This collaboration allows Online.ua to cover essential and exciting events, as well as maintain good relations with the organisers and the community, which contributes to strengthening the publication's reputation and attracting new readers.
