01
Accuracy before speed
A report should not be published merely because an event is moving quickly. Material facts, names, offices, dates and diplomatic actions should be checked before publication.
International Treaty Organisation
Editorial standards.
The principles that govern how ITO selects, verifies, attributes and presents information about diplomacy, international relations and global affairs.
Our approach
Accuracy before volume.
ITO is designed to make complex international developments easier to follow without removing the context that makes them meaningful. Reporting should be concise, attributable and clear about what is known, who is making a claim and where uncertainty remains.
Core standards
How we report.
02
Identifiable sources
Where a specific source is known, it should be named. Vague phrases should be avoided when a publication, government department, institution or document can be identified.
03
Attribution
Statements, allegations and policy positions should be attributed to the government, official, organisation or source responsible for them.
04
Fact and claim
Verified facts should be clearly separated from official claims, disputed interpretations, allegations and forecasts.
05
Neutral framing
Headlines and summaries should describe the development rather than instruct the reader how to feel about it.
06
Diplomatic precision
Diplomatic terminology matters. Recalling an ambassador, expelling a diplomat, closing a mission and suspending relations are different actions.
07
Corrections
Material errors should be corrected. An earlier mistake should not be repeated merely for consistency with a previous post.
08
Independence
ITO does not publish on behalf of governments, political parties, diplomatic missions or international organisations.
Source policy
Evidence should be traceable.
ITO should prefer sources that allow readers to understand where a factual statement came from. No single source category is automatically sufficient for every story.
Primary material
Official statements, treaty texts, government notices, court decisions, institutional releases and other original documents should be used where relevant.
News agencies
Established news agencies can provide timely reporting, especially when official information is incomplete or events are developing.
Reputable media
Established media organisations may be used for additional context, interviews, analysis and independently attributable reporting.
Disputed information
When a material fact is contested or cannot be independently established, the wording should state that uncertainty rather than present the point as settled.
Corrections
Correct the record.
If a report materially misstates a diplomatic action, institution, office, date, legal position or other consequential fact, the published material should be corrected. Where practical, a correction should make clear what changed.
Use of tools
Tools are not sources.
Search, translation, writing and artificial-intelligence tools may assist the production process, but they are not evidence in themselves. Factual claims should remain grounded in identifiable source material.
Independent status
Independent by design.
International Treaty Organisation is an independent, politically unaffiliated project. It is not an intergovernmental organisation and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or representative of any government, political party, diplomatic mission or international organisation.
International Treaty Organisation is a Taylor Silverstein brand.Project information ↗