Journalist Charter

The team of journalists we collaborate with wish to deliver quality, thorough and independent content to users across our websites.

Here is the North Star Network ‘Journalist Charter’, outlining the seven values that we ensure is upheld across our portfolio of sites:

Our articles and content do not contribute to hatred and are free of any kind of prejudice or discrimination, whether it be social, ethnic, racial, gender-related, sexual, religious, disability, political or other opinions.

Fact checking, Sources, Credits Plagiarism

The writers we collaborate with are expected to be accurate and provide information that has been gathered first hand or can be traced to a trusted and verified source.
We aim to reference comments made on social media by embedding the original post where possible.
We do not tolerate any plagiarism of any kind.

Right of Reply
Article subjects are afforded ‘right of reply' before publishing significant criticism or allegations.

Correction on wrong information

We encourage readers to send us feedback on any incorrect information or reporting they come across on our sites, and we commit to changing anything demonstrated to be false as quickly as possible.
Any updated article will clearly detail what has been changed, when and why.

Confidentiality of sources

The journalists we collaborate with always advise sources that their interview is on the record and will be recorded before starting the interview. They maintain professional secrecy and protect the sources of their information.

The writers we collaborate with take careful precautions not to reveal the identity of confidential sources, including avoiding putting a source’s name in writing on unsecured channels.

Independence

NSN websites make money only from ads and affiliation for betting operators. Any other paid content will be clearly displayed as “sponsored”.

Investment in real journalism

We collaborate with professional journalists and sports specialists who, where possible, are clearly identified in their articles.
Every article we publish is the responsibility of a named human editor, who reads it, checks it and signs it off before it goes live. Accountability sits with people, never with a tool.

Use of artificial intelligence

We use AI tools to help our journalists cover more of the game, faster. People stay in charge of everything we publish.

What AI may do. AI may help with research and background, transcription, translation, and structuring factual data such as fixtures, results, tables and squad lists. It may also produce first drafts of articles, including news, previews, features, analysis and opinion.

Human review. Every article drafted with AI is reviewed, fact-checked and approved by a named human editor before it is published. The editor checks every factual claim, quote and statistic against a primary or trusted source, rewrites wherever needed and is responsible for the final text. Analysis and opinion published on our sites reflect the judgement of the editor who approved them.

What AI never does. AI is never used to invent quotes, sources or statistics. It never conducts interviews, and it never writes as if a journalist attended a match, press conference or event. Match reports from the ground, player ratings, live coverage, interviews and first-hand accounts are written by the journalists who watched or spoke to the people involved.

Accountability. Accountability sits with people, never with a tool.

Updated 14 October 2026: section 7 revised to allow AI-assisted drafting of articles, including analysis and opinion, with every piece reviewed and approved by a named human editor.