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Editorial policy

Last updated .

These are the rules every piece on abundance.wales follows.

Policies, not parties

We argue for policies, never for parties or candidates. No piece asks anyone to vote for or against a party or candidate. No piece ranks parties, or is timed or framed to influence how people vote. We can be sharp about the policies, decisions and delivery of any government or council. We name the policy, not a party.

Fact, comment and conjecture kept apart

We follow Clause 1 of the Editors’ Code of Practice. It says the press, while free to editorialise and campaign, must distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact. In practice:

  • Every article carries one label: News explainer, Analysis or Opinion.
  • Opinion headlines start with “Opinion:”.
  • Headlines must be supported by the text.
  • Where we draw our own conclusion from the evidence, we say so.

Steelman first

Before we criticise a position, we set it out in a form its best supporters would accept, and we link to their own words. Analysis and Opinion pieces end with a section called Room for disagreement, giving the strongest case against our view.

Right of reply

If we criticise a named person or organisation, we put the key points to them before we publish. We give them a reasonable deadline: at least two working days, longer for serious or complex points, and at least five working days for any allegation of wrongdoing. We publish their response, or say that they did not reply. After publication, anyone who believes we have made a significant mistake about them can ask for a fair chance to reply. See Complaints and right of reply.

Show the data

  • Every factual claim links to its source, usually the original report, statistic, law or official statement, with the date we checked it.
  • Our datasets are published as CSV files.
  • Our methods are written down and published before our results.
  • We do not invent or round up figures.
  • Forecasts and targets are reported as forecasts and targets.

Policies, not people

We criticise decisions, records and arguments, not motives or character. We make no allegation of wrongdoing without strong evidence and legal review. When a piece could harm someone’s reputation or raises other legal risk, we take legal advice before publishing it, or we don’t publish it.

We sometimes use satire, including clearly labelled AI-generated images of public figures, to comment on their public decisions. Satire is opinion, not a claim of fact. It is aimed at what someone decided, not at who they are.

Fairness across Wales

North, west, the valleys and rural Wales count as much as Cardiff and the M4.

Who decides

Our Editor-in-Chief approves everything we publish before it goes live.

Independence

Carbon Machine Limited owns and pays for abundance.wales. No sponsor, advertiser or other outside organisation has any say in what we publish. See Who funds us.

Mistakes and complaints

See Corrections and Complaints and right of reply.

What changed: first version.