EDITORIAL: Accuracy is our main priority

By The Gay Report Editorial Board

We value the loyalty of our audience as well as their useful vigilance. There are times when mistakes and misunderstandings happen, especially in journalism and media. However that does not negate journalistic responsibility that those in the media need to adhere to.

As you know The Gay Report is the only LGBT news aggregate site posting a ton of news links and videos everyday and sometimes some information might slip through the cracks. Hence, the Editorial Board has implemented a strict "one strike" policy regarding accurate reporting because accuracy in journalism is the mantle that can never be questioned.

And since we rely on other media and news sources we've always made sure that such content is accurate, understandable and clear. Misleading headlines, articles, or shotty reporting really hampers our ability to ensure accuracy and could endanger our own credibility even if we did not produced such content. 

Today such disappointing, tacky, unprofessional reporting made its way as our main headline and for this we apologize to our readers first. This was a mistake that should never happened, ever. We strive to make sure that every article is dully scrutinize for accuracy. 

Second, the article in question was, however, misleading and below the par of what a professional LGBT magazine should be writing and a lesson to all journalism students as to what not to do. We take these issues seriously because such misrepresentation sends the wrong impression about The Gay Report's mission and we have taken steps to make sure we never face such problems again.

The Board has already established protocols on this particular issue which means banning such publication from The Gay Report permanently. 

The Board also decided today to establish new standards to ensure media accuracy which include:

• Giving first priority to non-blog sites to link on our front page. Blogs with exclusive content, will of course, be given the same priority as before.
• From time to time to audit certain news sites for accuracy, those who fail will be in danger of being banned from The Gay Report.
• New sites younger than six months will not be linked, and blogs with less than 30 posts or no bio of the author(s) will also not be linked.
• Sites who misquote people will also be suspended for a time determined by the Board.
• Social media (facebook, instagram, tumblr) sources will be double checked by our staff to ensure accuracy and deter fraudulent reporting. 
• Anonymous sources will be given the benefit of the doubt. Articles using such sources must clearly state that they are anonymous. Our own exclusive sources will be heavily vetted before publishing anything.

We've also received some complaints regarding nude pictures at sites we sometimes link to. Please note that we never contact these news outlets regarding this type of issue. Our policy for now is to review the entire site and see if the said pictures do in fact violate our standards. Due to our agreement with advertisers, sites that post sexually explicit nude or porn pictures will be banned from The Gay Report permanently. 

The Board has also decided to no longer link to sites whose ad spaces heavily outweigh actual content or that are purely commercial.

We've also decided not to link to subscription only news sites.

We would like to thank you again for your feedback. The Board always reads every feedback given to our staff, and we have made several determinations today thanks to your participation. Remember, The Gay Report is here to serve our community and not the ego of any one person, group of editors or blogger.