These standards apply to everything Capital Times publishes: news, analysis, explainers, guides, newsletters and editorials. They work alongside our Ethics Policy and our Corrections Policy.

Accuracy comes first

Every fact, number, date, name and title in an article must come from a source we have opened and checked. We do not rely on memory or assumption for anything that may have changed. If we cannot verify a claim, we leave it out.

When sources disagree, we say so. When something has been reported but not confirmed, we say it was reported, not that it happened.

Sourcing and attribution

We prefer primary sources: central banks, statistics offices, stock exchange filings, company statements and government websites. We also use reporting from established news outlets and credit them by name. For news, we look for at least two independent sources wherever possible.

A claim that rests on a single source is attributed to that source by name in the text, for example "the central bank said" or "according to the company's filing," so readers can judge it for themselves.

Every article lists its sources at the bottom, with links.

We do not cite pages that say their content was written by AI. AI-generated summaries are never used as the only support for a claim. We may use machine translations of human reporting from established outlets, and when we do, we name the original outlet.

Quotes and numbers

Quotations are checked word for word against the source before publication. If we cannot match a quote exactly, we paraphrase it without quotation marks. We keep quotes short and say who said them and where.

Figures are checked against the source, including units, currencies, time periods and the direction of any change. We give amounts in their original currency and convert them only when the source provides a conversion or we name the rate we used.

How we use AI tools

Capital Times uses AI tools in its newsroom, and we want readers to know exactly how.

• Research and drafting. Articles are researched and drafted with the assistance of AI tools.
• Independent fact-check. Each draft then goes through a separate fact-check pass, also carried out with AI tools but independently of the drafting, that compares the article with every source it cites. Numbers, names, dates, quotes, headlines and summaries are checked against what the sources actually say. Errors are corrected, and claims that cannot be supported are removed, before publication.
• Editor review. A human editor reviews every article, and the fact-check changes, before it is published.

AI tools can make mistakes, including stating things no source supports. Our process is built around that risk. Nothing is published because a tool produced it; every claim must trace back to a source that readers can open from the list at the foot of the article.

We do not use AI-generated images. See "Photos" below.

People are responsible

Editors decide what Capital Times publishes, and they are accountable for it. Responsibility for every article, including any error, rests with Capital Times and ultimately with the editor in chief, not with the tools we use.

Independence

Advertisers, sponsors and the owners' other business interests have no say over what we cover or how we cover it. Advertisers do not see articles before publication and cannot buy coverage. Sponsored content is always labeled and is never written by the newsroom. Our Ownership & Funding page explains who publishes Capital Times and how it is funded.

News and opinion

News, analysis, explainers and guides report and explain. Analysis may assess what a development means, based on evidence, but it does not argue for a position. Our political coverage is neutral and balanced.

Opinion appears only in the Opinion section, in editorials written by The Editorial Board and clearly labeled as such. Editorials argue a position, but they are held to the same standard of factual accuracy as our news.

Headlines must match the story

Every headline, subheadline, summary point and caption must be supported by the article beneath it. We do not overstate what an article shows, and we do not write headlines that promise more than the story delivers.

Data, charts and market figures

Charts and data tables name their source and the period they cover. Market data on the site comes from third-party providers and official sources, such as European Central Bank reference rates and U.S. Treasury yields. It may be delayed. It is provided for information only and is not investment advice.

Photos

We use real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, under licenses that allow commercial use. Every photo is credited beneath the image with its author, its license and a link to the source.

We do not use AI-generated images. We do not use photos in which an identifiable person is the subject. Our photos are file photos chosen to show the place, building or object in a story, and captions describe what the photo shows. They do not suggest a photo was taken at the event being reported.

Dates and updates

Every article carries its real publication date. We never backdate an article.

When an article changes in substance after publication, we note the change and the date it was made. Errors are fixed under our Corrections Policy, which explains how we label them.

Tell us about a problem

If you think we have something wrong, email corrections@capitaltimes.asia or use the form on our Corrections page. Please include the headline, what you believe is wrong and any source that shows it. If you have information for a new story, send us a tip.