At readingwire.co.uk, operated by Prism House Media Ltd., we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of journal integrity. Our use of digital tools and automation is guided by a single principle: technology serves journalism; journalism does not serve technology. This policy sets out how we employ digital tools to support our team, where we draw the line, and the human safeguards that govern every piece of content we publish.
How digital tools may support our work
We may use digital and automated tools across several stages of the editorial process to improve accuracy, efficiency and accessibility. These tools may assist with:
- Research and analysis: gathering publicly available information, identifying trends, or processing large datasets for investigative or statistical purposes.
- Editing and formatting: suggesting grammar and style corrections, standardising house style, and formatting articles for web publication.
- Translation: producing preliminary translations of source material or interviews, always verified against the original by a fluent editor before use.
- Metadata and tagging: generating SEO-friendly metadata, categorising content, and creating structured data for discoverability.
- Headline options: producing a shortlist of headline variants for editorial consideration. The final headline is always chosen by a human editor.
- Summaries: creating concise summaries of longer pieces for newsletters, social media, or article previews.
- Transcription support: converting audio interviews or press briefings into text for editorial review. Transcripts are checked against the original recording for accuracy.
- Content review: flagging potential factual inconsistencies, duplicate claims, or missing citations for human follow-up.
The human guarantee
All published editorial content is reviewed by a human editor before publication. This is a non-negotiable requirement. No article, analysis piece, opinion column, or cultural report is released to readers without a qualified member of the editorial team having read, checked and approved it. Our Editorial Policy and Fact-Checking Policy apply to all content irrespective of how it was originally drafted or supported.
Strict prohibitions
We impose clear boundaries on what digital tools and AI may never do within our editorial process:
- No fabrication of any kind. AI must never generate or suggest fabricated quotes, sources, interviews, bylines, author experience, expert profiles, false staff credentials, or false claims of first-hand experience. All such material must be genuine, attributable to a real person, and verified by the editorial team.
- Claims must be verified. Any factual claim generated or supported by AI must be independently verified by a journalist or fact-checker before publication. Automated output is never treated as a substitute for human reporting.
- Labelling of synthetic media. Where AI is used to generate or substantially alter images, audio or video content, that material will be clearly labelled to inform readers of its synthetic origin. This does not apply to minor retouching, cropping or formatting adjustments.
- No low-value content. We will not produce mass-generated, low-value articles or pages designed to manipulate search engine rankings, generate bulk ad revenue, or deceive readers. Every piece of content we publish must meet editorial standards of originality, relevance and quality.
Disclosure example
Where digital editing or formatting tools have been used in preparing an article, we may include a brief disclosure at the end of the piece. A typical example reads:
“This article was prepared with the support of digital editing tools and reviewed by a human editor before publication.”
This disclosure is used judiciously and is not applied to original reporting, analysis, or journalism written entirely by our staff. Readers will always find clear information about the editorial team behind our content on Our Team page.
Accountability and oversight
Overall responsibility for this policy rests with the Editor-in-Chief, Jonathan Whitfield. Day-to-day compliance is overseen by Thomas Ellery, Standards & Fact-Checking Lead, who ensures that all editorial staff and contributors understand and adhere to these rules. Any breach of this policy should be reported via our Contact page or directly to the Standards team. Our approach to accuracy and transparency is further detailed in our Fact-Checking Policy.
This policy will be reviewed regularly to reflect changes in technology and best practice. It applies to all content published on readingwire.co.uk and associated platforms.