Welcome! We have developed the following guidelines — inspired by the Credibility Coalition, Poynter, Mozilla, and others — to clarify expectations related to participation in various NewsQ activities.
Central to our work are the values of:
Accuracy. We do our best to make sure that our work is accurate and truthful.
Independence. NewsQ is an initiative of two independent nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations: CUNY and Hacks/Hackers. We manage our conflicts of interest and strive to be free of influences that might interfere with research and work that is accurate, fair, transparent, professional and helpful.
Collaboration. We embrace collaboration as a value because we believe these relationships encourage greater interactivity, responsiveness and utility.
Fairness. We strive to act justly, to respect people and their privacy, to present different points of view and to minimize harm. These guidelines serve as checks and balances on the perspectives and personal biases that each of us brings to our research.
Transparency. Through our white papers and blog posts, we shine a light on our own processes, explaining how and why we made decisions. We do our best to disclose relevant information that may have influenced or affected our decisions.
In order to succeed in our mission, we expect participants to treat one another along the following guidelines:
- Be respectful and value each other’s ideas, styles and viewpoints.
- Be direct but professional – we cannot withhold hard truths.
- Be inclusive and help new perspectives be heard; anticipate misunderstandings, which are part of a digital, multicultural space, and seek clarity – it may be the best that fresh ideas can arise from these moments.
- Appreciate and accommodate our many cultural practices, attitudes and beliefs.
- Be open to learning from others.
- Lead by example and match your actions with words.
We strive to support discussion where all people should feel safe to participate, introduce new ideas and inspire others, regardless of:
- Background
- Family status
- Gender
- Gender identity or expression
- Marital status
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
- Native language
- Age
- Disability
- Race and/or ethnicity
- National origin
- Socioeconomic status
- Religion
- Geographic location
- Weight
- Any other dimension of diversity
The following are not tolerated in NewsQ activities and discussion:
- Violence and threats of violence
- Personal attacks
- Derogatory language
- Unwelcome sexual attention or physical contact
- Disruptive behavior
- Influencing unacceptable behavior
- Disclosing private information of other participants without their consent
- Intentional plagiarism and/or copying the verbiage of others
- Posting advertisements
Please contact us if there is an additional guideline you would like taken into consideration or if you have questions.