Editorial policy & corrections

Last updated: 2 November 2026

The Gorilla Gazette publishes funny and strange stories, but we treat the facts seriously. This page sets out the standards every story has to meet. The editor, Joshua Goodall, is responsible for everything we publish.

Real news only

Every story is real. We only cover events that have been reported by an established news organisation – for example BBC News, the Guardian, Reuters, AP, Sky News, the Independent, the Standard, or a reputable regional or local outlet.
We check before we publish. We read the original report in full, and anything surprising is cross-checked against a second independent source, an official statement or primary material (a court listing, a council notice, a published study).
We are not satire. We don’t make stories up, we don’t invent or “improve” quotes, and we never present a joke as a fact. Our headlines can be playful, but they must be accurate.
We credit the original reporting. Every article names and links to the outlet that broke the story, in the byline area and again at the end, and quotes are attributed to the person and the outlet that reported them.
Our own words. We write every story ourselves. We don’t copy other outlets’ articles or photographs.

Who we cover, and who we don’t

We look for stories where the humour comes from the situation – a baffling council decision, an escaped animal, a spectacularly bad plan – not from someone’s suffering. We avoid naming private individuals unless they’ve already been named by the original outlet and it’s needed to tell the story, and we don’t cover stories involving serious injury, death, children at risk or vulnerable people for laughs.

Pictures and AI illustrations

We never use another outlet’s news photographs.
Photos come from openly licensed sources such as Wikimedia Commons, with the photographer and licence credited on the article. Where a photo isn’t of the actual person, animal or place in the story, the caption says so (for example “illustrative photo”).
Many of our pictures are AI-generated or hand-made illustrations. These are always labelled as an “AI illustration” (or “illustration”) in the caption and image credit. They are cartoons meant to illustrate the story, not evidence of what happened, and they never depict real, identifiable people.
We don’t use AI to write or invent facts, quotes or sources. A person checks every story against the original reporting before it is published.

Corrections

We fix mistakes quickly and openly.

To report an error, email [email protected] with the article link and what you think is wrong.
We aim to review correction requests within two working days.
If a fact is wrong, we correct the article and add a dated note at the end explaining what changed. Small typos and spelling fixes may be corrected without a note.
If a story turns out to be untrue or the original report is withdrawn, we will update it clearly or remove it and say why.

Independence

The Gazette is independent and self-funded. We don’t accept payment for coverage, and if we ever carry advertising or sponsored content it will be clearly labelled and kept separate from our journalism.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email [email protected] or see our contact page.