How Meridian works
This policy describes how Meridian's editorial operation runs: who decides what we publish, what standards every article must meet, and where the lines are drawn. It applies to everyone who writes, edits, photographs, or otherwise contributes to Meridian.
Editorial independence
Meridian's editors have sole authority over editorial content. Story selection, angles, headlines, and conclusions are decided on editorial merit — newsworthiness, usefulness, originality, and reader interest. Commercial considerations, including advertising relationships, affiliate partnerships, and sponsorships, do not influence what we cover or what we say about it. We do not accept payment for coverage, and we do not publish paid placements disguised as editorial content.
Bylines and authorship
Every article carries a named author. Author pages include a biography, areas of expertise, and a full archive of that author's work. We do not publish under anonymous or generic bylines except in rare cases where author safety requires it, and any exception is approved by senior editors. We do not invent experts, credentials, or affiliations.
Originality
Everything we publish must be original work. We do not copy, scrape, spin, or rewrite other publications' articles. When we build on reporting done elsewhere, we credit it clearly and link to the original. Plagiarism is grounds for immediate removal of content and termination of the contributor relationship.
Use of artificial intelligence
AI tools may assist our workflow — for example, in research, transcription, data organization, or drafting assistance. However, every article is reviewed, verified, and approved by a human editor before publication. We never publish AI-generated articles without human editorial review. AI-generated or AI-assisted imagery is labeled where it appears in a way that matters to the reader's understanding. We never present AI-generated text, images, or data as verified fact without human verification.
No fabricated material
We do not fabricate sources, quotations, statistics, studies, interviews, or events. Every factual claim in our reporting must be traceable to a real source. Where we use illustrative examples or hypothetical scenarios, they are clearly presented as such.
Corrections
When we get something wrong, we fix it and we say so. Significant corrections are published as dated correction notes on the article itself; minor typographical or formatting fixes are made silently. Our full approach is described in our Corrections Policy, and our verification standards are described in our Fact-Checking Policy.
Conflicts of interest
Contributors must disclose any personal, financial, or professional interest that could reasonably affect — or appear to affect — their coverage of a subject. Editors reassign stories where a conflict cannot be managed through disclosure. Gifts, travel, or hospitality from subjects of coverage are not accepted without prior editorial approval, and any accepted hospitality is disclosed to readers.
Reviews and recommendations
Product reviews on Meridian reflect genuine editorial evaluation. We do not claim a product was tested when it was not. Testing methodology is described in the review. If a review contains affiliate links, that is disclosed clearly at the top of the article. Affiliate relationships never determine review conclusions.
Opinion content
Opinion pieces and editorials are labeled as such and represent the views of their authors, not necessarily those of Meridian as a whole. Opinion content is held to the same standards of factual accuracy as news reporting: arguments may be contested, but facts must be correct.
Enforcement
Violations of this policy are investigated by senior editors. Consequences range from correction and retraining to removal of content and termination of contributor relationships, depending on severity.