1. Why this policy exists
Ukweli Coalition trains, equips, and connects journalists across a region where independent reporting is often produced under real danger: closed newsrooms, broadcasting bans, attacks, harassment, and exile. A shared editorial policy is what lets a Hub-supported story in the African Great Lakes carry the same weight as one from any major newsroom: readers, partners, funders, especially our audience in the region, need to know that every piece published or co-published through Ukweli was reported and checked the same rigorous way, regardless of where it originated or how dangerous it was to report.
This policy applies to journalists, media and partners we collaborate with, our editorial team whenever they report, edit, or publish work under the Ukweli name or with Ukweli support, whether the final story runs on our own channels or through a partner outlet, and partners.
2. Our editorial mission
Ukweli exists to strengthen in-depth, investigative journalism in East Africa, particularly in the African Great Lakes region through training and cross-border collaboration. Ukweli is committed to public-interest journalism that holds leaders and power to account to bring positive change for the communities.
3. Core values
- Accuracy first: We would rather be late and right than first and wrong. Every fact, name, date, and figure must be checked against a primary source before publication.
- Independence: Editorial decisions are made by editors and reporters alone. No funder, government, donor, or partner organisation may dictate a story's angle, timing, or outcome; funding relationships are disclosed in our public materials, not in the story itself.
- Fairness. Anyone accused of wrongdoing is approached for a response before publication, and that response is fairly represented.
- Evidence over assumption:
Claims are built on documents, data, on-the-record interviews, or verifiable open-source material, not rumor, and not what “everyone knows.” We treat anonymous sources as a last resort, not a convenience. Anonymity may be granted only when the information is vital to the story and cannot be obtained any other way. The reporter must know the source’s true identity and assess their direct access to the information, their reliability, and their possible motives.
- Duty of care:
No story is worth a source's or a journalist's life. Safety assessments are done before, during, and after sensitive reporting, and a story can be delayed, reshaped, or dropped if the risk to people involved outweighs the public benefit.
4. Sourcing and verification
Ukweli follows the standard used by the investigative outlets it works alongside: nothing goes out on the strength of a single unverified source.
- Documents (leaks, contracts, court files, satellite imagery, financial records) are authenticated where possible and cross-checked against public records before being relied on.
- Anonymous sourcing is a last resort, used only when a source faces real risk of harm, and the information cannot be obtained on the record. Editors must know the source's identity even when readers do not, and the reason for anonymity is stated in the story.
- Material sourced from social media or user-generated content is verified for authenticity, origin, and date before use.
- Every story supported by Ukweli goes through a second read by an editor who was not involved in the reporting, checking claims against the underlying notes, documents, and recordings, not just against the draft.
5. Right of reply and corrections
- Anyone or any institution facing serious allegations is given a genuine opportunity to respond before publication, with enough time and detail to answer meaningfully.
- Declining or failing to respond is stated plainly in the story.
6. Independence and conflicts of interest
- Journalists disclose any personal, financial, family, or political relationship that could compromise a story, and step back from stories where such a conflict cannot be managed.
- Ukweli does not accept payment, gifts, or favourable treatment from subjects of coverage, and does not allow funders or partner organisations to review or approve content before publication.
- Ukweli's role as trainer, grantmaker, and convenor is kept visibly separate from its role as publisher or co-publisher of any given story.
7. Collaborative and cross-border work
Much of Ukweli's most valuable journalism will be produced jointly, across newsrooms, borders, and languages.
- On joint investigations, one lead editor is designated to coordinate fact-checking and sign off on the final text, so accountability for the piece is never split between partners.
- Partner outlets publishing Ukweli-supported work agree in advance to the same sourcing, right-of-reply, and correction standards set out in this policy.
- Each partner retains the right to adapt language, length, and format for its own audience, provided the core facts and attributions are not altered.
8. Use of artificial intelligence
AI tools can support Ukweli's journalism, but they do not report, verify, or write stories. A human journalist and editor remain accountable for every fact published under the Ukweli name.
- Permitted uses include transcription and translation, background research, and summarising large document sets. Every output is independently checked against primary sources before use.
- AI-generated text is never published as a finished copy. Drafting assistance is allowed, but the reporter and editor rewrite and verify the piece in their own words before it runs.
- AI is not used to fabricate, alter, or enhance quotes, images, audio, or video. Any image, audio, or video that has been AI-generated or AI-altered is clearly labelled as such; if authenticity cannot be established, it is not used.
- Journalists disclose to their editor when AI has played a meaningful role in a story's research or production, so that role can be weighed during fact-checking and, where relevant, noted to readers.
9. Safety and protection
- Reporters and editors assess physical, digital, and legal risk before starting sensitive stories, and again before publication, with support from Ukweli and its partners where needed.
- Source protection is absolute: identities, contact details, and unpublished material are never shared with funders, partners, or authorities without the source's explicit, informed consent.
10. Review
This policy is a progressive document. It can always be reviewed in the interest of public interest journalism, to keep it aligned with how Ukweli actually works and with best practice among the investigative networks it collaborates with. Suggested amendments can be raised by any actor collaborating with Ukweli.