Our Commitment to Journalism

Every fact published in the Daily Standard is verified by at least two independent sources before publication. We use structured fact-checking processes aligned with the South African Press Code administered by the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA). Where single-source reporting is unavoidable in breaking news situations, this is clearly labelled.

All statistics, polling data and financial figures are checked against primary sources. We do not publish unverified claims from press releases without independent corroboration.

The Daily Standard is wholly independent. We accept no government funding, party political donations or funding from any organisation with a vested interest in our editorial output.

Our commercial and editorial departments operate with a strict firewall. Advertisers, sponsors and subscribers have no influence over editorial decisions. The Editor-in-Chief has sole final authority over editorial content.

On matters of public controversy, we seek to present balanced perspectives and clearly label opinion and analysis as distinct from news reporting. We apply the same editorial scrutiny to all political parties, institutions and public figures across the South African political spectrum.

We acknowledge our journalists have personal views but require those views to be set aside in news reporting. Opinion writers are free to express their positions but must base arguments on accurate fact.

When we make a mistake, we correct it promptly and transparently. Corrections appear in the original article with a clear timestamp and correction note. Significant errors are also noted on our corrections page.

We do not silently delete or alter published articles. If text is substantially changed after publication, we append an editor's note explaining the change. Readers can submit corrections via corrections@dailystandard.co.za.

Breaking news stories are clearly labelled as developing. As information evolves, we update articles with timestamps and add context. We do not delete early reports but add corrections and additional information.

We distinguish between confirmed facts, official statements, unconfirmed reports and speculation. These are clearly labelled throughout breaking coverage.

We respect personal privacy unless there is a clear public interest justification for intrusion. We follow the Press Code of South Africa on privacy, children and vulnerable people.

We do not publish information about private individuals' personal lives without consent unless directly relevant to public interest reporting. Named sources are used wherever possible; anonymous sourcing requires editorial sign-off.