Ownership Disclaimer  

The Postrider is an independently owned outlet that is unaffiliated with and does not receive funding from any outside organization. We do feature advertisements via Google AdSense, but maintain a strict separation between advertisement and financial contributions and any content-related decisions. By the nature of our largely self-funded operations, our owners hold significant stakes in the site, but we have codified complete editorial independence under the Editor-in-Chief, independent of investors or owners.

Donations

The Postrider is predominantly self-funded so we appreciate all support that comes to the site. However, we will not accept donations from sources or subjects of stories. If a source or subject donates to The Postrider, an editor’s note will be appended to the story in question, and The Postrider will donate that donation to a relevant charity.

Fact Checking

The Postrider publishes a variety of content, ranging from film and music reviews to political commentary and analysis to investigative reporting. No matter the genre of piece, it is important that it contains factual and verifiable information. In most cases, this can be ensured by what we consider “common sense” fact checking – verifying that the dates of events, names of people, basic statistics, etc. are correct, and that any linked content is properly contextualized. 

But when new or not widely known information is published in The Postrider, it must be held to a higher level of scrutiny. Any piece in The Postrider that includes claims that are determined to not be widely known to the public will be subject to a rigorous fact-checking process. In this process, the editor of the piece will either personally verify that all claims are correct and backed up with verifiable evidence, or will assign a separate editor to do so. This process necessitates a 24 hour “cool down” period between the completion of a piece and its publication in order for the designated fact-checker to complete the fact-checking process – in some cases, this period may be extended beyond 24 hours. Any factual discrepancies found by the editor will be published in a report delivered to both the Editor-in-Chief and the author of the piece – if possible, the fact-checker will also provide corrections in the report. If not, further deliberation between the author, fact-checker, and Editor-in-Chief must take place.

Corrections

If a correction in a published piece is required, The Postrider will add language to the end of the piece identifying the error and explaining how it was corrected. If the errors are so serious as to substantially change the truthfulness of the piece, this disclaimer will be added to the top of the piece, with an explanation from the Editor-in-Chief. In the event of fabrication or deliberate misrepresentation by contributors or staff, the piece will be removed, and the Editor-in-Chief will issue a formal retraction.

Plagiarism

The Postrider has a zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If a contributor is found to have plagiarized any contribution, they will be barred from contributing to The Postrider, and the piece in question will be appended with a disclaimer.

Contributor Anonymity

If a contributor has reason to believe a piece that they want to write for The Postrider will negatively affect them financially or reputationally, they may publish – with consent of the Editor-in-Chief and any relevant vertical editor – under the pseudonym of The Postrider. However, The Postrider will not accept anonymous submissions, and the credibility of any contributor who wishes to publish anonymously will be rigorously verified by the Editor-in-Chief and other editorial staff.

Sponsored Content

If The Postrider has received payment to publish a sponsored piece, we will clearly mark it as such. We do not publish any content, including sponsored content, that has not ultimately been approved by the Editor-in-Chief.

Sources and No Surprises Policy

If a piece makes novel or more comprehensively than previously reported claims about a specific person or organization, The Postrider will seek comment from that person or organization, and will not publish those claims until that person or organization has had a reasonable amount of time to reply. That “reasonable amount of time” may vary by subject, and is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

Response from Subjects

Occasionally, the subject of a story may request that The Postrider provide them with the opportunity to submit a lengthier, more detailed response to a claim than a mere comment. The Postrider reserves the right to exercise its discretion regarding whether or not these claims are published, and is not obliged to publish them in full or without corresponding commentary.

Anonymous Sources

The Postrider allows anonymous sourcing, but the identity and contact information of the source must be made available to the Editor-in-Chief and vertical editor, and all claims made by an anonymous source must be corroborated by at least one other source.

Gifts and Access

Contributors to The Postrider are not permitted to accept gifts or benefits from sources or subjects unless it is unavoidable (for instance, transportation provided by a source to an area of interest to the piece, or early access to an exhibit for the purposes of a review or reported piece). Access to events such as film premieres and concerts or content such as albums are permitted so long as the event/content is a significant focus of the piece in question. 

Payment of Sources

The Postrider will not pay sources to participate in a story.

Speaking for The Postrider

The Postrider does not take an official position on political issues. Individual authors may express their own political beliefs through their written work on the site or through their own personal channels, but, unless otherwise stated, these beliefs are not reflective of The Postrider’s position. As it has demonstrated in the past, The Postrider encourages good faith debate amongst its contributors. 

Disclosure of Relationships

In the event that The Postrider or a contributor to The Postrider has a prior personal or business relationship to a source or subject, that relationship will be disclosed within the text of the article. If the relationship is substantial enough to call into question the integrity of the piece, a different contributor will be assigned to the piece, or it may not be published. Contributors providing content about a particular business or investment should not hold any active (this excludes mutual or index funds, composed of shares in numerous companies) stake in what they are covering within seven days prior to or after publication. No offering from The Postrider is meant to be financial or investment advice.

Outside Contributors
Authors without a formal prior relationship to The Postrider are encouraged to submit ideas for pieces, and will be held to the same standards as prior Postrider contributors. All further inquiries about The Postrider’s standards and ethics policies should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief.