Editorial Policy and Standards
At The Spruce Pets, we take great pride in the quality of our content. Our writers create original, accurate, engaging content that is free of ethical concerns or conflicts. If you ever come across an article that you think needs to be improved, please reach out by emailing contact@thesprucepets.com.
Our Content Integrity Promise
We are committed to the quality and trustworthiness of our content and editorial processes. Our team of writers, editors, fact checkers, illustrators, photographers, and medical and financial professionals rigorously researches and reviews all content on an ongoing basis to ensure it is up to date, accurate, and puts the needs of our readers first.
Each article features a byline that includes the name, a brief description, and a link to more information for each person who contributed to that piece. The date indicates when the piece was most recently updated with new information. Some articles also have a tagline at the end to provide additional information on research or authorship.
Original illustrations, graphics, images, and videos are created by internal teams, who collaborate with experts in their fields to produce assets that represent diverse voices, perspectives, and context. Periodic review by editors as well as by Medical, Financial, Anti-Bias or other Review Board members as appropriate, ensure the quality, accuracy and integrity of these assets. Photos and videos are not edited in any way that may cause them to be false or misleading.
Fact Checking
The Spruce Pets' team of experienced fact checkers provides a critical layer of review to ensure content integrity. This group of professionals is selected and vetted for journalistic and subject matter expertise. They are tasked with researching all statements of fact to ensure that news and information presented in our articles is accurate and comprehensive and statistics are properly sourced and up to date. Articles that have been officially fact checked will display a "fact check" badge, as well as the name of the fact checker at the top of the page near the author.
If you have noticed an issue you would like to bring to our attention, please let us know by emailing contact@thesprucepets.com.
Corrections
Our editorial teams are committed to telling readers whenever a factual error has been made on a news story at the time of publication. We will correct the error as quickly as possible and alert readers to the correction. All corrections will be clearly labeled as such, and will include what was changed and when. When an article is factually correct, but the language is not as clear or detailed as necessary, the story may be updated without an editor’s note.
News articles often cover a distinct event in time, so they are not routinely updated. Our editorial teams are continually evaluating and updating evergreen articles to ensure they are timely, accurate, and relevant. Each article is date-stamped to reflect when they were last updated.
If you would like to report an error, you can do so by emailing contact@thesprucepets.com.
Sourcing
Our writers and editors adhere to strict standards for article sourcing. We rely on current and reputable primary sources, such as expert interviews, government organizations, and professional and academic institutions. All data points, facts, and claims are backed up by at least one reputable source.
We strongly discourage use of anonymous or unnamed sourcing, as this can erode transparency and reader trust. In the rare instance where an unnamed source is used, we will disclose to readers the reason behind the anonymity and provide necessary context.
A cornerstone of our reporting and sourcing is to consider often overlooked perspectives from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women. Our content strives to serve all communities.
Diversity and Anti Bias
The Spruce Pets believes that every human being deserves respect, representation, and opportunity. In service of The Spruce Pets' mission to represent, serve, and help all people, The Spruce Pets has established an Anti-Bias Review Board made up of educators, advocates, public health specialists, journalists, researchers, financial experts, and other professionals, each with a background in supporting diversity, inclusion, and racial justice initiatives. Additionally, we have articulated an Anti-Racism Pledge.
Anti-Bias Review Board members review content and images across The Spruce Pets, using research and their expertise and judgment to advise The Spruce Pets on language, images, themes, and tone. The Anti-Bias Review Board supports each brand in the creation of inclusive content that supports readers of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, religions, and socioeconomic circumstances.
The Anti-Bias Review Board is led by Mackenzie Price, PhD.
To learn more, please review our Anti-Racism Pledge. If you have noticed an issue that you would like to bring to the Anti-Bias Review Board’s attention, you may contact us at antibias@dotdash.com.
Ethics
The Spruce Pets is committed to accurate, fair, and complete journalism. Each staff member and contributor is held to a high standard of honesty and transparency. Content may not infringe copyright or anyone’s intellectual property rights.
Our goal at The Spruce Pets is to provide original, unbiased content. Anything less could damage our credibility as a trustworthy source of information. We expect all contributors on the network to abide by all applicable laws and standard, accepted journalist practices, including:
- Copyright Law of the United States
- FTC Guidelines on Disclosures
- Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Code
- Fair Use
Objectivity
The Spruce Pets writers and editors are prohibited from giving preferential treatment to any outside resource (company, publication, video, affiliate, website) based on their relationship with the person or company who authors or owns that resource.
The Spruce Pets writers and editors are contractually obligated to abide by the FTC Guidelines on Disclosures. In practical terms, writers must always fully disclose any relationship, financial or personal, with any source or resource that may compromise their objectivity (including any valuable goods and services provided to the writer by the source).