Editorial Policy - Independent Writer

Independent Writer publishes reporting and explanatory writing on medicine, law, technology and finance. Much of what we publish concerns health, and health writing carries an obligation that other writing does not: a reader may act on it. This page sets out how we source, review and correct what we publish, so that obligation is checkable rather than asserted.

1. Sourcing

Every article that reports a study, a survey, a dataset or another outlet's reporting names its sources. Those sources are listed at the foot of the article with the publication, the title, the year and a working link.
Primary sources come first — peer-reviewed journals, PubMed and PMC records, and official bodies such as the WHO, the CDC and the ICMR. News coverage is cited as secondary, and never in place of the study it describes.
Research is attributed in the text, not only in the source list. We name the journal, the institution and the year rather than writing "a recent study".
Anything attributed to a named person — a quotation, a recommendation, a clinical opinion — links to where they said it. We do not put words in an identifiable person's mouth on the strength of second-hand reporting.
Where a claim cannot be sourced, it does not run.

2. How health claims are handled

We describe what the evidence shows and how strong it is. A single small trial is reported as a single small trial.
We avoid absolute therapeutic framing. "May support liver health" is a claim the evidence can carry; "liver-healing remedy" is a treatment claim, and we do not make it.
Every health article carries a standing medical disclaimer. Our writing is information, not diagnosis, and not a substitute for a qualified clinician.
Where an article has been reviewed by a qualified clinician, the reviewer is named on the article along with the date of review.

3. Who writes for us

Every author has a public profile stating their qualifications, their subject areas and their experience. A byline on this site resolves to a real, identifiable person.
Writers cover the subjects they are equipped to cover. We do not ask one writer to be an authority on every medical specialty.
Submissions are welcome from practitioners and researchers, and are read by an editor. There is no algorithm, no pay-to-publish, and no fee at any stage.
Submitted work is held to the same sourcing rule as our own. No piece publishes without named sources.

4. Review before publication

An editor reads every submission and returns a decision within three to five working days.
Editing checks the claims against the cited sources, the accuracy of the attribution, and the strength of the framing.
Authors are given one round of revision where an editor asks for changes.
Accepted work is published under the author's own name with full credit and a public profile.

5. Corrections

We correct errors rather than quietly removing them.

A factual error is corrected in the article and noted at the foot of it, with the date.
A substantial revision shows both dates: when the article was first published, and when it was last updated. We do not backdate an article to make it look current.
Where a claim turns out not to hold, the article is amended or withdrawn, and the reason is stated.

To report an error, use our contact form or write to [email protected]. Tell us the article and the specific claim, and we will respond.

6. Independence and funding

The site is funded by display advertising served through Google AdSense. Advertising is sold by the network, not by us, and advertisers have no say in what we publish or how it is framed.
We do not accept payment for coverage, and we do not publish sponsored content presented as editorial.
We do not sell links. Sources are linked because they are the source, and carry no commercial relationship.
Where a conflict of interest exists on any article, it is disclosed on that article.

7. Use of AI

Articles are written and edited by people. Where an automated tool assists with research, transcription or copy-editing, the author remains responsible for every claim in the piece, and the sourcing rule above applies unchanged. We do not publish generated text as reporting.

8. Getting in touch

Questions about this policy, a correction, or a piece you want to write: use our contact page. To find out who runs this publication, see About.