Check Before Publication
Names, dates, locations, figures, quotations, official titles and material factual claims must be checked against reliable evidence wherever reasonably possible.
Editorial Code
The Cape Town News Editorial Code sets the standards governing accuracy, fairness, transparency, independence and accountability across all CTNews journalism.
Cape Town News is an independent regional digital newsroom serving Cape Town and the Western Cape.
Our editorial responsibility is to report accurately, explain developments clearly, distinguish fact from allegation or opinion and provide readers with enough context to understand why a story matters.
This Editorial Code applies to CTNews articles, updates, explainers, opinion material, photographs, social-media posts, newsletters, video, audio and all other editorial products published by Cape Town News.
Editorial Principles
- CTNews will publish information only when there is a reasonable basis to believe it is accurate.
- Headlines, images and summaries must fairly reflect the underlying report.
- Opinion, analysis, allegation and verified fact must be clearly distinguished.
- Material claims must be attributed to identifiable and credible sources wherever possible.
- Readers must be told when important information remains unconfirmed or disputed.
- Commercial relationships must not determine independent editorial conclusions.
Accuracy And Verification
Be Clear About Uncertainty
Breaking stories may evolve rapidly. CTNews will distinguish confirmed information from preliminary reports and update articles when reliable new facts become available.
No Misleading Presentation
Headlines must accurately reflect the article. CTNews will not use a sensational or misleading headline merely to attract clicks.
Explain Why It Matters
Reports should include the relevant background, public consequence and local significance needed for readers to understand the development.
Fairness And Right Of Reply
CTNews will seek comment from people or organisations facing serious criticism, allegations or claims that could materially affect their reputation.
Where a response is not received before publication, the article should state that comment was sought where appropriate. A later verified response may be added as an update.
A right of reply does not give a subject control over the article, headline, editorial judgement or publication timing. Responses may be edited for length, clarity, relevance, repetition and legal risk.
Sources And Attribution
Identify Sources Clearly
CTNews prefers named, attributable sources. Articles should identify the official body, publication, spokesperson, journalist, author or document supporting the report.
Credit Other Journalists
When another publication first reports an important development, CTNews will credit the original source rather than presenting the work as its own.
Use Only When Justified
Anonymous sources should be used only where the information is important, the source is credible and identification may create a genuine risk or prevent the information from reaching the public.
Verify Authenticity
Leaked, private or unofficial documents should be checked for authenticity, context and public-interest value before publication.
Corrections And Accountability
CTNews will correct confirmed material factual errors as promptly as reasonably possible. Minor spelling, punctuation or formatting changes may be made without a formal notice where they do not affect meaning.
Where a substantial factual correction is made, CTNews may add a correction or update note explaining what changed.
Correction requests and complaints are handled under the Cape Town News Corrections & Complaints Policy.
Privacy, Dignity And Harm
Balance Privacy With Public Interest
CTNews will consider whether personal information is necessary to the report and whether publication serves a legitimate public interest.
Avoid Unnecessary Humiliation
People should not be subjected to gratuitous embarrassment, dehumanising language or unnecessary exposure of private grief.
Use Sensitive Identification
CTNews will consider safety, trauma, legal restrictions and the wishes of families when identifying victims of violence, accidents or tragedy.
Publish Only When Justified
Graphic images or descriptions should be used only when necessary for public understanding and should not be published merely for shock value.
Children And Vulnerable People
CTNews will exercise special care when reporting on children, survivors of abuse, people experiencing trauma and other vulnerable individuals.
Children should not be identified where identification may expose them to harm, stigma, legal risk or further trauma, unless publication is lawful, justified and clearly in the public interest.
Consent from a parent, guardian or institution does not automatically remove the newsroom's duty to consider the child's best interests.
Crime, Courts And Allegations
Charges Are Not Convictions
People accused or charged with offences must not be described as guilty unless convicted by a court.
Use Precise Language
Words such as alleged, accused, charged, convicted and sentenced must be used accurately and not interchangeably.
Respect Court Orders
CTNews will comply with lawful reporting restrictions, identity protections and publication prohibitions.
Attribute Official Claims
Police allegations and preliminary investigative claims must be attributed and should not be presented as final judicial findings.
Images, Video And Audio
Editorial images should accurately represent the people, place or event being reported. Captions and credits must be clear and accurate.
CTNews will not materially alter authentic editorial photographs in a way that changes their factual meaning. Limited adjustments such as cropping, brightness, contrast, sharpening and resizing may be used to improve presentation without misleading readers.
Illustrations, composites, file photographs and generated visuals must be identified where there is a reasonable risk that readers could mistake them for a direct record of the event.
Artificial Intelligence And Editorial Work
Artificial intelligence may assist CTNews with research organisation, transcription, language refinement, data processing, headline testing, image preparation and production workflows.
AI-assisted work remains subject to human editorial review. CTNews editors are responsible for checking facts, sources, quotations, names, dates, legal risk and the final published wording.
AI output must not be treated as a source. Information must be verified against credible documents, direct reporting or attributable sources before publication.
CTNews will not knowingly use AI to fabricate quotations, sources, events, evidence or reporting activity.
Opinion, Analysis And Letters
Opinion, analysis, commentary and letters must be clearly labelled so readers can distinguish them from factual news reporting.
Opinion writers may express strong views, but factual claims within opinion material remain subject to reasonable verification and legal standards.
CTNews may edit or decline letters and commentary that contain unlawful content, unsupported accusations, hate speech, personal abuse, plagiarism or material factual inaccuracies.
Commercial Content And Sponsorship
Identify Paid Material
Sponsored features, paid partnerships, advertisements and other commercial material must be clearly identified.
No Editorial Control For Sponsors
Advertisers and sponsors may not dictate independent news conclusions or require the removal of accurate public-interest reporting.
Reveal Material Relationships
Relevant commercial, financial or personal relationships should be disclosed where they could reasonably affect reader trust.
News And Advertising Remain Distinct
Editorial presentation must not mislead readers into believing that paid material is independent newsroom reporting.
Conflicts Of Interest
Editors, reporters and contributors should avoid assignments where a personal, political, financial or family interest may materially compromise independent judgement.
Where a potential conflict cannot reasonably be avoided, it should be disclosed to the editor and, where relevant, to readers.
Gifts, hospitality, travel or access must not be accepted where they could reasonably be understood as purchasing favourable editorial treatment.
Plagiarism, Copyright And Original Work
CTNews will not knowingly plagiarise the work of another journalist, publication, photographer, creator or organisation.
Direct quotations must be attributed. External reporting, photographs, documents and research must be credited and used lawfully.
Rewriting another publication's report does not remove the obligation to identify the original source where that reporting materially underpins the CTNews article.
Bylines And Author Identity
CTNews bylines must represent either a real named author or a clearly identified institutional newsroom role.
Mark Botes-Lashmar is used primarily for Western Cape provincial and political reporting. Cape Town News Desk is used for compiled newsroom reports and multi-source updates. CTNews Staff Reporter is used for genuine supporting reporting where an individual name is not published.
CTNews will not create fictional journalist identities to make the newsroom appear larger.
Public Submissions And Community Material
Community notices, photographs, eyewitness accounts, documents and story tips may be considered for publication, but submission does not guarantee use.
Material supplied by the public remains subject to verification, editorial relevance, legal review, consent considerations and available newsroom capacity.
People submitting material should confirm that they have the right to share it and should disclose whether it has been altered, staged, sponsored or previously published.
Editorial Responsibility
Mark Botes-Lashmar, Founder and Editor of Cape Town News, oversees CTNews editorial direction, verification standards and newsroom accountability.
Cape Town News is published by Lashmar Media (Pty) Ltd. Editorial decisions remain separate from advertising, sponsorship and commercial partnerships.
Questions, Corrections And Complaints
Readers, sources and affected parties may contact the newsroom at editorial@ctnews.co.za.
Correction requests and formal editorial complaints should follow the process set out in the Corrections & Complaints Policy.
Learn More About Cape Town News
Review our newsroom identity, corrections process, trusted sources and contact information.
