Editorial Standards

1. Who writes for us

Every article carries a named human author with a public profile. We do not use pen names, initials or house bylines. Editors are named as well, and the editor responsible for a section is responsible for what that section publishes.

2. Sourcing and accuracy

We work from primary sources: official studio and platform announcements, verified accounts of the people involved, on-the-record interviews, court and regulatory filings, and press materials sent to us directly.

When we report something first published elsewhere, we say where it came from and link to it. We do not present another outlet's reporting as our own. Single-source claims about a named person are labelled as such. If we cannot verify something, we either leave it out or state plainly that it is unconfirmed.

3. Reporting, opinion and rumour

These are three different things and we keep them apart. Reporting is what we can show. Opinion is argued and signed. Rumour is labelled as rumour, with its origin named, and never used as the basis of a headline that states it as fact.

4. Headlines

A headline says what the article says. We do not write headlines that a reader would find contradicted by the first paragraph. Questions in headlines are answered in the article. We do not withhold the substance of a story to force a click.

5. Reviews and rankings

Reviews are written by someone who has watched the thing being reviewed, in full. Rankings state the criteria they use — whether that is critical reception, audience scores, box office or the writer's own argument — and they say so in the article, not only in the headline. Where we quote a score from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic, we name the source and the date we checked it, because those numbers move.

6. Spoilers

We do not put spoilers in headlines, in the first paragraph, or in the preview image, for anything released in the last thirty days. Where an article discusses plot details beyond that, it carries a spoiler warning before them.

7. Reporting on real people

Coverage of public figures is limited to their public work and to matters they have themselves made public. We do not publish private addresses, private contact details, medical information or details about the children of public figures. We do not speculate about sexuality, health or family situations. Allegations are reported only when they exist on the record — in a filing, a statement, or an interview — and we say which.

8. Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it and we say so. A correction is added to the bottom of the article with the date and a description of what changed. Substantive errors of fact are corrected and labelled; typographical fixes are made silently. We do not delete an article to make an error disappear, and we do not quietly rewrite a published claim.

To report an error, write to info@startefacts.com or use the Contact page. We answer correction requests.

9. Use of AI

Articles on Startefacts.com are written by people. We may use software tools for research assistance, transcription, translation and routine checks such as spelling and formatting. Every published word is written or rewritten and verified by a named human author, and an editor is accountable for it.

We do not publish machine-generated articles. We do not use synthetic images or video of real people. Where an image was generated by software, it is labelled as such in the caption.

10. Images and copyright

Images are licensed, supplied by rights holders as press materials, or used as fair-dealing illustration of the work under discussion. Every image credits its source in the caption. We honour takedown requests from rights holders — see our DMCA Policy.

11. Independence and advertising

Editorial decisions are made by the editorial team. Advertisers, affiliate partners and commercial partners have no say in what we cover, when we cover it, or what we conclude. Sponsored and affiliate content is labelled clearly at the top of the article. Where an article contains affiliate links, that is stated in the article.

12. Sensitivity

We write about people from a wide range of backgrounds for an audience in more than fifty countries. We name a person's background only when it is relevant to the story. We use the names and pronouns people use for themselves. We do not run jokes at the expense of a group.

13. Comments and community

Comments are moderated. We remove abuse, threats, spam, personal information and impersonation. We do not remove a comment for disagreeing with us.

14. Contact and complaints

Editorial questions, corrections and complaints: info@startefacts.com, or through the Contact page. Complaints about a specific article go to the editor responsible for that section, and we reply.