Editorial standards

01 / 07

Independence

Bright makes publication decisions for readers. Sponsors, funders, companies, sources and subjects cannot purchase inclusion, removal, ranking, a favorable evidence state or approval of unrelated editorial copy. Material conflicts of interest are disclosed beside affected work.

Gifts do not secure coverage. Bright does not accept travel or hospitality that carries an editorial condition. If travel or access materially supports reporting, the provider and terms are disclosed so a reader can judge the relationship.

02 / 07

Sources and fact-checking

Bright prefers original research, public records, official datasets and first-party institutional documentation, then uses reputable secondary reporting for context or independent support. Company statements and supplied footage can document what a company says or shows; they do not independently verify performance, adoption or impact.

Before publication, Bright checks the bounded claim, source identity, relevant date, setting, population, comparator, units, AI’s role and known limitations when those facts are available. A source check is not reproduction of an experiment or commissioned expert review.

03 / 07

AI in the editorial workflow

AI may help find candidate material, compare sources, structure data, draft language, produce code and prepare media. Publication remains an explicit editorial decision. AI output is checked against cited material, and AI-assisted review is labeled without implying a named human reviewer or independent expertise.

Bright does not fabricate interviews, observations, quotations, recordings or sources. Generated or illustrative imagery must be labeled where a reasonable reader could mistake it for documentary evidence. It cannot be used to simulate an event, person or result as though it were captured from life.

04 / 07

Original reporting and interviews

Work is called original reporting only when Bright performed reporting, such as an interview, direct observation, records work or original analysis. Synthesis of published sources is labeled as synthesis.

Interviewees must understand the intended format and whether recording is involved. Bright may check names, technical facts or a quotation’s accuracy with a source, but does not promise subjects editorial approval. Any broader quotation review or unusual consent condition is disclosed.

05 / 07

Corrections, updates and disputed evidence

Material factual errors are corrected and recorded. Clarifications improve precision without reversing a fact. Source updates add later material. Editorial disagreements are considered but do not become corrections merely because a source dislikes a conclusion.

Credible counterevidence, retractions, failed replications and serious methodological disputes remain visible. Bright may mark a claim Contested, narrow its wording or add a limitation while preserving the dated revision history.

06 / 07

Sensitive claims

Health, legal, financial and public-policy claims receive extra care because errors can change consequential decisions. Bright identifies the setting and evidence boundary, avoids individualized advice, links the controlling or original source where available and seeks qualified outside context when the claim requires expertise Bright does not have.

07 / 07

Sponsors, funders and underwritten work

Paid placements use plain disclosure such as “Advertisement” or “Sponsored by.” Underwritten editorial work names the funder and explains the relationship. The funder may verify facts about its own name, logo, product and supplied creative, but cannot approve the editorial conclusion.

Sponsor creative remains visually and structurally separate from evidence records. Paid links are identified for browsers and search systems. Bright does not use third-party ad exchanges, sponsor tracking pixels or undisclosed native advertising.