These are the standards every entry on Who Serves is held to. They are modelled on the principles of the South African Press Code, adapted for a public record. Editors and the software that assists them follow them without exception, whatever the party or office.
1. Accuracy and sourcing
- Every fact links to the public record it came from. If we can't cite it, we don't publish it.
- Official sources come first: Parliament, legislatures, municipalities, gov.za, National Treasury, the Electoral Commission, courts and oversight bodies. Accountability records may also cite established news organisations with their own editorial standards; we do not use anonymous, partisan or user-generated sources.
- A person is matched to a record only when we are confident it concerns them. When in doubt, we leave it out.
2. Fairness and allegations
- We report allegations as allegations, and state exactly where each matter stands.
- We use neutral language. We don't use loaded words such as "corrupt" or "criminal" unless they describe a court's finding.
- We record outcomes — acquittals, withdrawn charges, findings set aside, successful appeals — as prominently as the original matter.
- Anyone who is the subject of an accountability record may reply, and a relevant reply is published alongside it (see the right of reply).
3. Privacy and dignity
- We publish information about a person's public office and their conduct in it — not their private life.
- Office contact details only: never home addresses, ID numbers, personal phone numbers or email addresses.
- We never publish information about children, and we don't name family members who do not hold public office.
- We don't use leaked, hacked or unlawfully obtained material.
4. Independence
- Who Serves is not affiliated with any party, government body or candidate, and accepts no instructions from them about what to publish.
- Money never buys influence. Contributions to the developers have no bearing on the record, and we refund any payment we learn was intended to influence it.
- Anyone working on Who Serves must declare a personal connection to a person on the record and may not edit records about that person.
5. Corrections
We correct mistakes promptly and openly. Significant corrections are dated. See corrections, right of reply and complaints.
6. The public interest
We publish because citizens are entitled to know who exercises public power in their name, how to reach them, what interests they have declared, and how they have been held to account. That purpose — and nothing else — decides what goes on the record.