What you can expect from SFist, and what to do when we get it wrong.
SFist is a small, but dedicated newsroom covering San Francisco and the Bay Area. This page explains how we do what we do, and where the lines are.
Voice is not a loophole
SFist has a point of view and a sense of humor. That applies to how we write, not to what we report. Jokes are recognizable as jokes. Facts are checked. We don't invent quotes, sources, or details for effect, and we label opinion and criticism so you know which one you're reading.
Accuracy
Names, dates, quotes, dollar figures, and links get verified before publication, and an editor reviews the work. When a number comes from a report or a dataset, we read the report.
Credit where it's due
Though SFist is first to many stories, a lot of local news breaks somewhere else first. When it does, we say who broke it, in the story, with a link, near the top. Material from press releases, agencies, and official accounts is attributed too.
Developing stories
Early reports are often wrong in ways nobody can see yet. When we publish fast we say what's confirmed, what's preliminary, and who's claiming it. Updates carry a visible timestamp, and if new information changes the substance of a story, we say what changed instead of quietly rewriting it.
Sources
We link to the filing, the ordinance, the report, or the data whenever we can, so you can check us. Our writers identify themselves as journalists when reporting, with the ordinary exception of dining anonymously at a restaurant we're reviewing.
Requests to take stories down
We don't unpublish accurate reporting because it later became inconvenient. We will update a story if you send documentation of something that changed, like dropped charges, an acquittal, or an expungement, and in unusual cases we may add a note or limit search indexing. Requests go through our contact page and get a real look.
Free meals, press tickets, and things people mail us
We pay for meals and tickets when we can. Press access, comped tastings, and review copies exist so we can cover things, not as perks, and we don't take them for personal use. Nobody here accepts gifts, trips, or payment in exchange for coverage.
Ads and sponsored content
Sponsored posts are labeled as sponsored. Advertisers don't see stories before they publish, don't shape them, and can't get them killed. Buying ads doesn't protect a business from coverage.
Photos
We credit photographers and label archival images, photo illustrations, and anything altered. Captions describe what actually happened in the frame. We don't stage a scene and present it as news.
AI
A human writer and a human editor are responsible for every news article on this site. Automation doesn't make editorial calls. If generative tools played a meaningful role in an article, or an image was AI generated or materially altered, we tell you.
Corrections
We fix confirmed errors promptly and explain what was wrong. We don't delete posts to make mistakes disappear. Details are in our corrections policy.
Spotted one? Send the link and the specific passage through our contact page. Tips go there too.
