All members working at Parhlo.com have a diligent duty to uphold the highest stands of professionalism. The Code will act as a guide for every member of the company, promoting ethical standards of work, also protecting the rights of the individual and the public, respectively.
It will be the due diligence of Editors and Publishers working at Parhlo.com to make sure that every article, post or image that goes through the company’s platform, obliges to the Code of Ethics in letter and spirit.
1. Permission to privacy
If any person working for Parhlo.com finds a scoop that is to go through the platform, permission from the source must be taken i.e – posts on social media. No member of the company should take private pictures of people in person or public places.
Every individual has their right to privacy, and members of the company must acknowledge it.
2. Strict laws of harassment
If any person related to the company is found of misconduct against any person in and out of the company, strict measures will be taken against the said individual.
No member of the company must be involved in practices of harassment, blackmailing or intimidation for work or personal reasons.
3. Extremely sensitive stories
Stories of sensitive nature demand being dealt with extra care and finesse. Cases involving personal shock or grief must be taken into consideration before publishing. Writers, Editors, and Publishers need to show both sympathy and empathy towards such stories.
When stories pertaining to suicide are published, graphic content must be blurred, along with the revelation of as little details of the incident as possible.
4. Identification of child abuse
Details of no child below the age of 16 must be revealed for the audience, in case a story relates to child abuse or sexual abuse involving children. The adult, perpetrator, if proven, must be identified. Terms such as ‘incest’ must be avoided in related to children – or even adults, due to the sensitive nature of our audience.
5. Perks or Privileges
No member of the Parhlo.com team must run a story, share a post or infuse personal opportunities in their work. Upholding their work ethic, no member is allowed to take personal benefits of any kind in return for a favorable story through the platform.
No promotion of personal contacts without the approval of the authorities responsible, including the Sales team working at Parhlo.com
6. Confidentiality
If a story involves upholding the source’s confidentiality it must be respected and obliged, regardless of the pressure. On the other hand, if any member of the team is singled-out in an agenda against the company or a particular story, his/her identity must also be protected/kept secret by their colleagues.
7. Anti-state stories/news
Parhlo.com upholds the Pakistani constitution in all its glory, however, the company does not write/post against Pakistan. Any material that hurts the country’s sovereignty, security or global narrative must be not published through the platform.
If any such story, against the Code of Ethics, is published – the person responsible for it will be served a show-cause along with losing the company’s moral and physical support.
Accuracy of news / Fact-Checking Policy
It is very important for writers, editors, and publishers working for the company to thoroughly check the accuracy of the story. In no way should the title, featured image or content of the post be misleading and inaccurate with distortions.
Corrections policy
1. Policy
Parhlo.com strives for a nimble, accurate and complete news report. We endeavor to be promptly responsive in correcting errors in material published on digital platforms and in print. When we run a correction, clarification or editor’s note, our goal is to tell readers, as clearly and quickly as possible, what was wrong and what is correct. Anyone should be able to understand how and why a mistake has been corrected.
2. Updating a digital report
Our individual pieces of journalism evolve as we sharpen and improve them. Our readers expect that from us in the digital age. It is unnecessary to put notes on stories stating that a story has been updated unless there is a particular reason to note the addition of new information or other change; the time stamp signals to readers that they are reading a developing story. It is necessary to use a correction, clarification or editor’s note to inform readers whenever we correct a significant mistake.
3. Corrections
If we are substantively correcting an article, photo caption, headline, graphic, video or other material, we should promptly publish a correction explaining the change.
4. Clarification
When our journalism is factually correct but the language we used to explain those facts is not as clear or detailed as it should be, the language should be rewritten and a clarification added to the story. A clarification can also be used to note that we initially failed to seek a comment or response that has since been added to the story or that new reporting has shifted our account of an event.
5. Editor’s Notes
A correction that calls into question the entire substance of an article, raises a significant ethical matter or addresses whether an article did not meet our standards, may require an Editor’s Note and be followed by an explanation of what is at issue. A senior editor must approve the addition of an Editor’s Note to a story.
6. Other Corrections Policies
- When an error is found by a reader and posted to the comment stream, the audience engagement team should indicate in comments that it has been corrected.
- If we have sent out incorrect information in an alert, we should send out an alert informing people that the news reported in the earlier alert was wrong and give readers the accurate information.
- When we publish erroneous information on social networks, we should correct it on that platform.
- We do not attribute blame to individual reporters or editors (e.g. “because of a reporting error” or “because of an editing error”). But we may note that an error was the result of a production problem or because incorrect information came to us from a trusted source (wire services, individuals quoted, etc.)
7. Take-down (unpublish) requests
Because of the ease with which our published content can be searched and retrieved online, even years after publication, we are increasingly being asked to take down (or “unpublish”) articles from our website.
As a matter of editorial policy, we do not grant take-down requests, which should be vetted at the highest level. If the subject claims that the story was inaccurate, we should be prepared to investigate and, if necessary, publish a correction. And there may be situations in which fairness demands an update or follow-up coverage — for example, if we reported that a person was charged with a crime but did not report that the charges were later dismissed for lack of evidence. In short, our response will be to consider whether further editorial action is warranted, but not to remove the article as though it had never been published. When we publish publicly available personal data, we only will review takedown requests if the person involved is under threat of physical harm because of the existence of the material.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to email us at info@parhlo.com