Trendy Matters is committed to developing and growing a cutting-edge media company that maintains strict adherence to journalistic integrity. These editorial guidelines outline specifics ways we uphold that standard.
We consistently hold ourselves to rigorous and exceptional standards, fostering an environment that encourages passion, integrity, enhances collaboration, and honors all voices and identities.
Our editorial guidelines offer our teams and contributors guidance on what to aspire to — and avoid — while giving the public a clear understanding of what to expect from us.
That being said, we acknowledge that the intricacies of real life cannot be condensed into a simple set of rules. We advocate for open dialogue and discussions with colleagues and supervisors about particular scenarios. We encourage a willingness to change our minds with new information that may change the context of a given story.
Our aim is to maintain the highest journalistic standards and ensure our content remains free from conflicts of interest.
1. Independence and Conflict of Interest
- Commitment to Independence: Our editorial team operates independently of any external influence. We do not allow personal, financial, or political interests to affect our editorial decisions.
- Disclosure of Interests: All contributors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that might influence their reporting or commentary. Transparency is key to maintaining trust with our audience.
- Avoiding Conflicts: Editorial staff must avoid situations that could lead to conflicts of interest. This includes, but is not limited to, accepting gifts, favors, or compensation from sources, subjects, or stakeholders involved in the content being produced.
2. Factual Accuracy and Corrections
- Commitment to Accuracy: We are dedicated to providing accurate, reliable, and well-researched information.
- Corrections Policy: If a mistake is identified, it is our responsibility to correct it promptly and transparently. Corrections should be clearly noted and communicated to our audience to maintain our credibility.
If you notice an error or inaccuracy, please send a link to the article with a description to admin@gmcommerce.co. Please read our “Source Verification” guidelines to ensure your correction meets our revision criteria. Your inquiry will be reviewed by our editorial team. - Quotes: Quotes: If a quote from a person or organization is included in an article or other content without being obtained directly through a Trendy Matters interview, we will link to a primary source such as a video or a post from their primary social media account where they said the quote. We typically do not base quotes on secondary reporting, such as from another media outlet, unless that outlet had an exclusive interview with the person being quoted.
- Citations: When citing sources, proper attribution will be given. Attributions typically come as an in-link hyperlink to the source or as a list item in the article’s footnotes.
- Opinions: Due to the nature of Trendy Matters content, we allow our author’s to have points of view and angles on various stories, such as critiques or praise of movies, pop culture trends, and other culturally focused topics.
- Fact vs. rumor: Due to the nature of Trendy Matters content and topics, some of the articles on this site may contain rumor-based information that has not necessarily been officially confirmed by a involved party. To this end, we prioritize making that clear by using language that indicates it as such, including things like “Rumors swirled that….” or “these speculations have not been confirmed by [person being discussed] to make clear that information is not a confirmed fact. We do make a concerted effort to maintain existing content. In the event that something we’ve reported on turned out to not be true, we often will cover the development in the narrative either as a separate article, linking to the original, or add an edit on existing articles.
3. Disclosure and Ethics: Handling Conflicts, Activism, and Transparency
Trendy Matters prides itself on editorial independence, with staff and contributors dedicated to maintaining this independence. They will steer clear of activities that might compromise their journalistic integrity.
Should a conflict of interest, or appearance of conflict of interest occur, such as through personal or familial connections, financial investments or contributions, or working with or promoting an organization under coverage, the editorial team member or contributor will be recused from the coverage or will disclose the conflict publicly.
Though Trendy Matters has numerous investors, these investors do not have any influence over our reporting or internal editorial guidelines and processes.
4. Agenda-Free Reporting
- Objectivity: We strive for impartiality and objectivity in our reporting. Our content should not promote any particular agenda or narrative. Moreover, we are an independent, self-funded media source that does promote specific viewpoints for the sake of swaying public sentiment one way or another.
- Sponsored or Affiliate Content: While Trendy Matters does not currently create sponsored content, it is any avenue we may explore in the future. If an article is written with the express intent of promoting a product, service, or person, it will be clearly labeled as ‘sponsored’ content.
- Balanced Reporting: The subject matter we report on and the implicit viewpoints represented within are those of the contributor and not of Trendy Matters as an organization.
4. Content Standards
- Respectful Content: Content must be free from abusive language, profanity, and sexual content. Respect for all individuals and groups is paramount.
- Non-Violent: We do not publish content that incites violence or promotes harmful behavior.
- Editorial Tone: The tone of our content should be professional and respectful, avoiding sensationalism and unnecessary provocation.
- Harassment: Trendy Matters and its parent company, GM Commerce, understands that harassment, in both digital and physical spaces, is a growing problem with potentially life-altering outcomes for victims. We are committed to taking the impact on our team members and contractors seriously. We will use appropriate measures to ensure their protection.
If it is determined that a Trendy Matters contributor participates in or encourages harassment, we will take necessary actions to address the situation.
5. Prohibited Content
The following types of content are prohibited and will result in rejection of articles.
- Profanity or otherwise vulgar language
- Promoting or glorifying violence or terrorism in any way
- Promoting or disparaging self harm or suicide in any way
- Hate speech (on the basis of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, mental/physical abilities, etc)
- Bullying or abusive harassment of any kind
- Doxxing
- Sexually explicit material that is not contextually relevant to the story at hand (i.e., a story about a porn star, abortion statistics, etc.)
- Misinformation or Hoaxes (knowingly including false information, particularly about medical topics or politics.
6. Human-Crafted Content Commitment
We do not utilize AI-generated content in any form. Our commitment to human-crafted content ensures that our readers receive thoughtful, authentic, and insightful material, reflecting the expertise and unique perspectives of our talented staff.
By adhering to these editorial guidelines, we reaffirm our commitment to journalistic excellence and integrity. Our goal is to foster a trusted and respectful relationship with our audience, upholding the principles of independence, accuracy, and ethical conduct in all our work.