Inc42 Ethics

Mission

• Accelerating India’s tech and startup economy by helping create a positive impact on the world of startups and all stakeholders involved.
  
• Journalism that acts in the interest of the general public; helps foster an ecosystem that has great standards of corporate governance and ethics; ensures effective and proper utilisation of investor funds and grants (including those from the government).
  
• Democratising startup data & tech intelligence with data-driven, impactful & unbiased news and incisive analysis on what matters most in Indian tech.
  
• Equipping leaders in India’s tech and startup economy with unbiased news, thoughtful analysis, in-depth research and the community they need to navigate the rapidly-evolving world of tech.
  
• Initiatives to ensure the growth and development of the startup ecosystem with a vision to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs; highlight India’s place in the world of technology; create more jobs, uplift the social status of the general public and help bring in more investments into India.
  

Scope Of These Guidelines

Our Editorial Code Of Conduct helps us adhere to the highest standards of journalism from the point of view of ethics and integrity. We hold all the editorial staff, freelancers and contributors accountable to the standards set in our code of conduct. They are also encouraged to conduct themselves honourably and contribute to a newsroom that encourages passion, collaboration and mutual respect.

In an ecosystem that is constantly evolving, we strive to maintain journalistic integrity and credibility across the newsroom, and in all editorial-related marketing activities

In the due course of our journalism, we may find ourselves in situations that could give rise to conflicts of interest. To that end, if there is a potential conflict of interest between the subjects we cover and our organisation, we will be as transparent as possible.

Editorial Standards

• Objectivity & Neutrality: Inc42 does not pick sides in any argument, but rather presents unadulterated facts and opinions of subjects without introducing personal biases. Opinions, if any, introduced in our longform coverage, are backed by data or comments from experts and not presented without validation.
• Editorial Independence: Inc42 reports on all entities that fall into our newsworthiness criteria, without fear of backlash — even from our own investors.
• Legal Backing: Our editorial team has the technical, procedural and legal support necessary for fearless reporting and to bring independence into our voice.
• Financial Responsibility: We strive to ensure our staff members, freelancers and contributors do not personally benefit from information obtained while in the course of their newsroom activities and while employed or engaged with Inc42. Our team, freelancers and/or contributors are also discouraged from acting on news from the point of view of investments until the news is published publicly.

Our News Gathering Process

• Like every newsroom, our editorial discretion on newsworthiness is fluid, even if confined to the Indian startup ecosystem
  
• Double-sourcing is a key aspect of all our coverage, when there is no official record of developments. This means sourcing information from two unrelated sources on the same matter so as to not pollute our investigations.
  
• Double-sourcing involves corroborating opinions and unverified pieces of information through official channels, data, other unrelated sources or documentary evidence.
• We strive to treat our sources and subjects with utmost respect, and maintain an emotional distance from these entities as far as possible.
• All our news gathering efforts are only conducted through legal means when it comes to acquiring information, pursuing sources and subjects, or gathering documents for investigative pieces.
• Rational and balanced approach to investigations with adequate time for all subjects to have a voice in the final product.

Duties Of Journalists

• An Inc42 journalist’s primary responsibility is to ensure fair and balanced reporting based on information sourced in a fair and legal manner.
  
• Journalists and authors conduct their news gathering in an unbiased manner and treat subjects and sources with dignity,
• Objectivity is paramount; and as such Inc42 journalists are always discouraged from introducing personal opinions in articles.
  
• Inc42 prides itself on using data to drive conversations; and our journalists are encouraged to verify claims made by subjects through data.
  
• Journalists have to ensure that no plagiarised material is being submitted for editing; This will be flagged and brought to the attention of management.
• Inc42 has zero tolerance for unattributed quotes, data and plagiarised material; Strict action will be taken against journalists found to have plagiarised content.
  

Duties Of The Editor

• The duties of the editor include ensuring that all coverage on Inc42 adheres to the mottos stated above.
• Editor has to ensure that no plagiarised material is published; Plagiarised reporting must be brought to the attention of management for further action.
• The primary responsibility of the editor is to ensure journalistic standards are being maintained throughout the course of all reporting — from the beginning to the publishing, and any rectifications to the published version.
• The editor is responsible for creating systems, processes and controls that can ensure fair and balanced reporting as well as for tracking compliance with journalistic ethics.
• The duty of the editor also includes ensuring that all content related grievances are treated seriously and if found valid, are incorporated into the published piece.
• Editors are not responsible for bad faith conduct by a journalist/author in their personal capacities during the course of their reporting.
• Editors are not responsible for a journalist’s public conduct during the course of reporting.
• Besides ensuring that the right language is used, an editor is in charge of removing all biases from reporting, ensuring that opinions and facts have been verified through data or expertise.
• Editors need to ensure timely submission of reports, news and feature stories.
• Editors need to ensure the final published article has the right packaging in terms of headlines, infographics and visuals and allied marketing content.
• Editors are tasked with the responsibility of keep the news cycle going through the day by assigning articles directly to authors.
• Editors need to utilise the wider Inc42 ecosystem to bring new insights into stories already reported by third parties.

Fact Check Guidelines

• At Inc42, our reputation rests on fair, balanced and accurate reporting and coverage throughout the newsroom.
• Like every newsroom, our editorial discretion on newsworthiness is fluid, even if confined to the Indian startup ecosystem; however, there are some rules we follow to ensure we adhere to the standards we aspire to.
• Double-sourcing is a key aspect of all our coverage, when there is no official record of developments. This means sourcing information from two unrelated sources on the same matter so as to not pollute our investigations.
• Double-sourcing involves corroborating opinions and unverified pieces of information through official channels, data, other unrelated sources or documentary evidence.
• We strive to treat our sources and subjects with utmost respect, and maintain an emotional distance from these entities as far as possible.
• Pertaining to coverage that requires responses from subjects — Inc42 always allows adequate time for subjects to respond. This differs from case to case primarily based on the sensitivity of the reporting:
  • Investigative stories — 24-48 Hours For Responses
  • Feature stories – 12-24 Hours For Responses
  • News stories – 4-8 Hours For Responses
• Inc42 always updates and corrects reports when there is more information available — this is either through a follow-up or an update to the existing published article.
• All our news gathering efforts are only conducted through legal means when it comes to acquiring information, pursuing sources and subjects or gathering documents for investigative pieces.
  

Advertisers, Native & Content Marketing

• We do not do advertorial content.
• Native content goes through a strict editorial process.
• We do not publish content to ensure glorified/misleading/non-fact based favourable coverage in exchange for access.
• No claims made by partners are considered unless there are documentary proofs made available.
  

Source Attribution

• The first source of reporting is always prominently credited when doing follow-up reporting.
• All quotes in any article need to be correctly attributed to the relevant sources and subjects whenever possible.
• Misattributing quotes or changing their content for any reason whatsoever is strictly prohibited.
• If anonymous sources have been used, all effort must be made to ensure the credibility of the sources. This includes corroborations through multiple other unrelated sources.
• Extracts from third-party publications need to be distinctly attributed.
• When translating quotes from non-English languages to English, please ensure that a language expert or native speaker is consulted as far as possible.
• There is some liberty when it comes to translating to English, but the core meaning of the sentence must remain the same.
• Quotes must not be changed as far as possible, unless it is to correct language for the sake of clarity. Journalists need to distinctly mark such changes for the editors.
  

Guidelines Surrounding External Contributors

• Journalists are only as good as their sources. In the interest of transparency and trust, journalists must clarify if the conversation is on the record, anonymous, or off the record.
• Sound judgement must be exercised in relationships with sources. Journalists should ensure they remain impartial to ensure it doesn’t hamper their objectivity. It is highly discouraged to accept any hospitality including gifts, meals, drinks and accommodation, among others to preserve professional detachment. Scrupulous practice requires that if at any point the relationship gets personal to the extent that bias is likely to creep in, the journalist reaches out to the Editor-In-Chief.

Disclosures About Our Investors

• Inc42 reports on all entities that fall into our newsworthiness criteria within the Indian startup ecosystem. On occasion our coverage might be about companies which have some investors that have also invested in Inc42’s parent group company.
• All our coverage is independent, balanced and therefore, some of our coverage may be critical of our own investors
• We take ethics and transparency very seriously at Inc42. Every article by our staff writers will have a link at the bottom that redirects readers here, so as to make our readers aware about any possible conflicts of interest.

A list of our investors is available here.

Grievance Redressal

Despite the organisation, the editor and the author/journalists showing full commitment to their responsibilities, if there are any concerns that are found with the quality of the content, you can reach out to us via email on the email & address below and we will do our best to get this resolved, if found correct at the earliest.

Grievance Officer
Inc42 Plus Media Private Limited
59/16, Ground Floor, Jujhar Tower,
R.D. Marg, Kalkaji, New Delhi, 110019, India
Email: grievances[@]inc42.com
Landline: 011 4036 3558

Grievance Officer
Ideope Media Private Limited
59/16, 4th Floor, Jujhar Tower,
R.D. Marg, Kalkaji, New Delhi, 110019, India
Email: grievances+ideope[@]inc42.com