Last Updated: December 16, 2025

Editorial Standards and Ethics Policy

Editorial Standards & Ethics Policy

At Political Jar, we believe that trust is the currency of democracy. Our mission is to provide accurate, data-driven, and accessible political information to our readers. As an independent digital platform, we adhere to strict editorial guidelines to ensure our content is reliable, transparent, and educational.

Below are the core pillars of our editorial philosophy.

1. Editorial Independence

Political Jar is an independently owned and operated platform.

  • No Pay-for-Play: We do not accept payment in exchange for news coverage, favorable opinions, or specific editorial angles.
  • Non-Partisan Stance: While we analyze political theory and current events, we remain unaffiliated with any specific political party, Super PAC, or lobbying group. Our goal is to provide the context necessary for you to form your own opinions.
  • Funding Transparency: Our revenue is generated through merchandise sales and reader support. These revenue streams do not influence our editorial decision-making or content selection.

2. Verification and Fact-Checking

In an era of misinformation, accuracy is our priority.

  • Primary Sources: Whenever possible, Political Jar relies on primary documentation. This includes official legislation text (via Congress.gov), government transcripts, court filings, and academic historical records.
  • Data Integrity: For our voting records and legislative data, we utilize official APIs and government datasets to ensure raw numbers are presented accurately without manipulation.
  • Human Review: Every article, data visualization, and analysis published on this site is reviewed by our Editor-in-Chief, Barry Seward, to ensure it meets our standards for accuracy and fairness.

3. AI Usage & Technology Policy

Political Jar embraces technology to make political data more accessible, but we believe journalism requires a human touch.

  • AI as a Tool, Not an Author: We utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to assist with data processing, coding, summarization of lengthy documents, and technical site maintenance.
  • The “Human-in-the-Loop” Guarantee: No content on Political Jar is published solely by AI. All drafts, summaries, and data interpretations are fact-checked, edited, and finalized by human editors. We do not use AI to generate opinion pieces or replace human critical thinking.

4. Corrections Policy

We strive for perfection, but we acknowledge that errors can occur. We believe in owning our mistakes transparently.

  • Retractions & Fixes: If a factual error is identified in one of our articles, we will correct it immediately.
  • Transparency: Significant corrections will be noted at the bottom of the article with a clear label (e.g., “Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the date of the vote…”).
  • Reporting an Error: If you believe you have found an inaccuracy in our content or data, please contact us immediately at editor@politicaljar.com

5. User Privacy & Discourse

We are committed to fostering a healthy community.

  • Civil Discourse: While we encourage debate in our community sections, we enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding hate speech, harassment, or the intentional spread of disinformation.
  • Data Privacy: We respect reader privacy. For full details on how we handle user data, please review our Privacy Policy