Welcome to the Editorial Principles Document of Noon Post.

Founded in 2013, Noon Post is an independent media platform rooted in the tradition of slow journalism. We produce in-depth reports, analytical journalism, and multimedia content aimed at providing deeper insight into regional and global developments. Our work is driven by a diverse team of young professionals from across the Arab world, representing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.

This document outlines the editorial principles, ethical standards, and professional frameworks that guide Noon Post’s work across all forms of coverage and content production. It serves as a roadmap designed to ensure the highest possible adherence to international best practices in journalism.

Executive Summary

Noon Post delivers journalism grounded in accuracy, integrity, and credibility. We are committed to pursuing factual truth and making every possible effort to verify the information we publish.

We defend freedom of expression and uphold core journalistic values, including honesty, objectivity, balance, diversity, integrity, and independence. We reject political, ideological, sectarian, and commercial influence, and oppose discrimination of any kind based on origin, gender, nationality, opinion, or any other factor. We respect diversity and pluralism, values reflected in the makeup of our editorial team.

Noon Post is committed to presenting differing perspectives fairly and impartially, distinguishing clearly between news and opinion, acknowledging errors transparently, and correcting them promptly. We adhere to internationally recognized journalistic standards at every stage of the reporting process, including standards related to sources, witnesses, and intellectual property rights.

Editorial Rules

In all our content production, we strive to uphold the highest editorial standards by ensuring fairness, objectivity, and transparency.

We comply with applicable laws and regulations, as well as the ethical principles governing the journalism profession, including codes of conduct and media ethics charters.

We are committed to human rights principles and seek, through our content, to promote and strengthen a culture of rights awareness among individuals, communities, public institutions, and civil society organizations.

We strive to achieve gender balance and inclusive representation in our coverage by reflecting the experiences and voices of all segments of society, including children, women, men, youth, older persons, and persons with disabilities, both in storytelling and sourcing.

We avoid stereotypes in all forms and refrain from using language, imagery, descriptions, or comparisons that may reinforce harmful stereotypes about individuals or communities.

In coverage of controversial political, economic, or social issues, we maintain rigorous standards of accuracy and impartiality.

When reporting on public policy or politically sensitive issues, we apply the same standards of neutrality and precision across all forms of content, including supporting visuals, illustrations, and multimedia elements.

In issues affecting broad segments of society, we avoid promoting personal viewpoints and treat all individuals equally regardless of ethnicity, nationality, race, or any distinguishing characteristic.

Whenever possible, we rely on original photography and video production. If archival or third-party materials are used, their sources are clearly identified.

Editorial Standards

In fulfilling the public’s right to know and contributing to informed public discourse, Noon Post is committed to the highest professional media standards, organized around the following principles:

Accuracy

Accuracy is the foundation of Noon Post’s credibility and editorial reputation. To ensure accuracy, our team commits to:

Avoiding unsupported assumptions.
Verifying information through original sources whenever possible.
Confirming the authenticity, accuracy, and timeliness of documents, statistics, images, audio, and video recordings.
Ensuring journalistic procedures comply with professional standards and remain free of bias.
Using precise, neutral, and unambiguous language.
Maintaining high linguistic standards in spelling and grammar.
Reporting events within their proper context without exaggeration or minimization.

Fairness

We provide all parties involved in a story with equal opportunity to express and explain their perspectives fully and without selective editing.

Balance

All relevant parties are given the right to respond and present their evidence and arguments fairly.

Integrity

We avoid bias and treat all parties equally. We refrain from pursuing personal interests or serving the interests of any group at the expense of another.

Transparency

We clearly explain how information and data were obtained, particularly when such methods directly affect the nature or scope of the information presented. We are committed to ethical reporting methods and reject extortion, bribery, or unethical information gathering practices.

Objectivity

We present facts as they are without exaggeration, distortion, or personal interpretation.

Independence

Noon Post is an independent institution that makes editorial decisions free from external interference. The personal interests, affiliations, or outside activities of staff members must not influence our editorial output.

Impartiality

We do not favor individuals, groups, or viewpoints over others. To maintain impartiality, we:

Ensure full understanding of the context surrounding events.
Present all major perspectives in political disputes.
Offer comprehensive coverage that enables audiences to form informed opinions.

Minimizing Harm

We are committed to minimizing harm by:

Respecting privacy and balancing it against the public’s right to know.
Clearly identifying journalistic roles and the nature of participation in our content.
Avoiding stigmatization, discrimination, and harmful stereotypes related to gender, race, geography, disability, or socioeconomic status.
Applying ethical standards when covering vulnerable groups, including children, persons with disabilities, and victims of violence or terrorism.

Ethical Standards

We respect the diversity of audience perspectives and are committed to avoiding content that violates public decency, promotes violence, incites hatred or crime, or causes unnecessary social harm, except where publication is justified by legitimate professional and public-interest considerations.

Coverage of Victims

Noon Post applies strict ethical standards when reporting on victims:

We do not publish names, photos, or identifying details of victims unless publication clearly serves the public interest.
We never disclose the identities of victims of sexual or domestic violence, especially children.
We prioritize the physical and emotional safety of victims during interviews and avoid coercive or traumatic questioning.
In murder cases, we avoid publishing graphic imagery and instead use non-disturbing contextual visuals.
We do not reveal the identities of kidnapped persons, hostages, or missing individuals without authorization from relevant authorities or families.
We avoid sensational coverage of suicide cases and refrain from revealing identities unless there is an overriding public-interest justification.
We do not publish graphic images of victims of terrorism or mass violence.
Despite all of the above, victims’ names and identities may be published in cases involving genocide, ethnic cleansing, or crimes motivated by religion, ethnicity, or gender, provided dignity and respect are maintained.
We uphold the legal principle that “a suspect is innocent until proven guilty,” and therefore refer to accused persons as “suspects” until judicial rulings are issued.
Exceptions may apply in terrorism or major criminal cases when authorities request public assistance.
Even when victims consent to revealing their identities, we assess whether doing so could expose them or their communities to further harm.
We avoid sensational descriptions in cases of sexual violence and focus instead on broader societal implications.

Coverage Involving Children

We recognize the particular sensitivity required when working with children. Written consent from guardians is required before interviewing or photographing minors.

We are committed to:

Avoiding the publication of identifiable images of children unless editorially necessary.
Ensuring safe interview environments and avoiding emotionally harmful questioning.

Coverage Involving Persons With Disabilities

We reject stereotypes portraying persons with disabilities as helpless or dependent and avoid pity-based narratives.

We commit to:

Obtaining informed consent and clearly explaining their role in our reporting.
Allowing them to tell their own stories directly.
Avoiding humiliating or distressing portrayals.
Using respectful, professional terminology.
Highlighting achievements without exaggeration or tokenism.
Presenting disability-related issues as rights-based social issues.

Working With Sources

Sources are the lifeblood of journalism and may include individuals, institutions, studies, documents, internet sources, and social media content.

We distinguish between primary sources directly involved in the story and secondary sources offering context or analysis.

We classify sources into three categories:

Stakeholders
Individuals directly affected by events
Subject-matter experts

Before relying on secondary information, we seek original sources whenever possible.

To avoid misinformation and disinformation, we commit to:

Verifying information rigorously through original or directly knowledgeable sources.
Avoiding reliance on a single source, particularly in analytical reporting.
Maintaining honesty and professionalism in dealings with sources.
Protecting confidential sources while respecting legal obligations.
Cross-checking eyewitness testimony with multiple witnesses.
Identifying the original source of online or social media information whenever possible.
Correcting inaccurate information transparently when necessary.
Verifying the professional and academic credibility of studies, reports, and publications.
Evaluating potential conflicts of interest and motivations behind sources’ claims.

Our relationship with sources is strictly professional and based on journalistic necessity.

Hate Speech

Noon Post rejects and combats hate speech in all forms. We do not publish or promote language, imagery, or content that encourages discrimination, violence, or hostility against individuals or groups.

We seek to balance the public’s right to information with the preservation of social cohesion and peace.

Privacy

We respect the private lives of individuals and public figures and do not intrude into personal matters unless publication serves a clear public interest.

We are committed to safeguarding personal privacy in accordance with laws, ethical journalism standards, and the principles outlined in this policy, especially those related to minimizing harm.

We maintain a careful balance between freedom of expression and respect for human dignity and personal liberty.

Accordingly:

We obtain explicit consent before recording interviews.
Recordings are used solely for journalistic purposes disclosed to the source in advance.
Privacy protections apply particularly in private spaces and personal family matters unless overriding public-interest concerns justify publication, such as criminal conduct or behavior harmful to society.

Last updated in accordance with the original Arabic editorial policy document.