Adhering to a strict code of conduct is important for any editorial organization, and is especially important for publications like Input, whose work is supported by advertisers. We will frequently cover the very same companies who are advertising with us, and so adhering to these rules is an important way to ensure we continually earn the trust of our audience.
Editorial Independence
What we choose to cover and not cover, as well as the way we choose to cover it, is completely independent from the influence of those we cover, the advertisers with whom we work, the advertising employees of Input’s parent company, Bustle Digital Group (BDG) and BDG’s investors.
In order to preserve this independence we have the following rules:
We control what we publish:
- While we will reach out to the subjects of our stories for fact-checking and for comment, we do not allow the review of interview questions prior to the interview or stories prior to the stories being published.
- We don’t allow conditional access (e.g., we’ll only agree to an interview if you agree to avoid certain topics).
We avoid financial relationships between the companies we cover and our journalists:
- We don’t accept anything of value from the companies we cover or people or organizations acting on their behalf.
- All reporting expenses are paid by Bustle Digital Group (i.e., we do not allow companies to pay for a reporter to travel).
- Our editorial team does not directly invest in public or private companies within our areas of coverage. Employees may own mutual funds and other financial instruments that in turn own shares in the companies we cover, but may not directly trade or invest in them.
- We do not do any paid endorsements of any kind.
We avoid conflicts of interest:
- Editorial employees at Input are not permitted to work for or advise the companies we cover or are likely to cover.
- If an employee has a significant other, roommate, or family member who works for a company we cover or are likely to cover, they will recuse themselves from coverage of that company.
- Where any other conflict exists (for example where an employee previously worked for a company we cover), that conflict will be clearly called out in the text of the story.
Product reviews and review units:
Product reviews on the site — as with all other content on Input — are wholly independent of any external influence and we do not accept or participate in "paid-for" reviews.
Our editors and writers may accept loaned products for limited periods of time for review or evaluation, and may agree to timed embargoes with companies. Occasionally we will evaluate products for longer periods of time if there is an expectation of meaningful product changes (due to software updates or augmentation of other kinds).
All advertisements are clearly labeled:
Input runs advertisements that are sold directly by BDG’s sales team as well as advertisements from programmatic exchanges. Our editorial team never works on the creation or execution of these ads.
"AD", "ADVERTISEMENT" and/or "SPONSORED BY" is used to label content paid for by an advertiser and created in collaboration with Bustle Digital Group's marketing team.
BDG, Inc. has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence or alter editorial content in any way, though the company may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.
