STANDARDS / IMAGES
Image & Rights Policy
Every published news story requires a real, exact-subject documentary image with documented provenance, integrity and usable publication rights.
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Eligible documentary images
A photograph, screenshot, diagram or other documentary visual must show the actual subject relevant to the story and remain within its verified editorial and rights context.
What is not acceptable
- AI-generated factual scenes or reconstructions presented as documentary evidence;
- generic stock used to imply an exact event, person, device or place;
- an artificial factual cover made because a real image is unavailable;
- a crop or edit that changes factual meaning;
- an image without a documented creator, source, permission or licence.
Seven mandatory gates
The private Rights Registry must pass exact-subject, real-image, provenance, rights, integrity, credit and registry checks. Any failed gate keeps the story on HOLD.
Public caption and credit
The public page uses a concise factual caption and a discreet professional credit. Complete source, licence, restrictions, checksums, edits and verification notes remain in the private rights record.