These are the rules every paper is written to. They are part of the instructions the AI follows each night, and the automatic
checks enforce the ones a computer can test.
Accurate at every age
- Every figure, name and date comes from a source the research actually found, and every story lists its sources.
- Nothing is filled in from memory. Records and “firsts” appear only when a source states them.
- When sources disagree, we use the most recent and most official one, or leave the detail out.
- Age changes the vocabulary, the explanations and the size of the type. It never changes the facts.
Honest about hard news, without graphic detail
- Wars, disasters and crime are reported honestly, without graphic or frightening detail.
- Papers for the youngest readers say what happened and who is helping.
- Stories whose core facts are too graphic for children are never used in papers for under-15s.
- Read & Play's games for 6–8s leave out stories about war and disaster.
Fair
- Disputed claims are reported as the claims of whoever made them, with the other side's answer in its own terms.
- Quotes are short and used only when the exact words matter, such as a threat, a promise or a legal claim.
- Stories report what happened and what each side says. Questions at the end ask readers what they think; the papers don't tell
them what to think.
- A story is chosen for how much it matters, never to suit a map or a chart.
Clear
- New words are explained, and so is the background a story depends on.
- Readers are never left to do the arithmetic: comparisons are stated, not implied.
- Each paragraph leads into the next, so a young reader can follow the whole story.
Independent
- There are no ads and no sponsors. Nobody pays to be in a paper.
- We don't collect anything about your child. See privacy.
When we get it wrong
We fix the paper, and say on the corrections page and next to the issue what was wrong and what it
now says. To report a mistake, use the feedback form or email corrections@newspebbles.com.