Editorial Transparency
Artificial Intelligence Use Policy
The Whistling Chronicle editorial team, may use artificial-intelligence in part for the production of generated images from time to time. AI assistance does not replace human editorial responsibility, verification, attribution, or accountability. Each member of the editorial team is responsible for their own research, fact checking, and information gathering.
Last updated: September 20, 2026
Human Editorial Responsibility
A human editor, writer, or publisher remains responsible for material published by The Whistling Chronicle. AI-generated output is not treated as automatically accurate simply because a tool produced it, therefore it will not be used to write articles.
Before publication, factual claims, names, dates, figures, quotations, source material, links, and material context can and will be checked by a person responsible for the story.
Permitted Uses
AI-assisted tools may be used to support work such as editing assistance, transcription, translation assistance.
AI may also be used to create illustrative material when that material is clearly identified so readers are not led to believe it is documentary photography or an authentic record of an event.
AI Is Not a Source
An AI system is not, by itself, a factual source. Information produced by an AI tool can and will be verified against reliable reporting, public records, documents, direct observation, interviews, data, or other appropriate source material before being presented as fact.
A citation invented by an AI system is not a source. A quotation generated by an AI system is not a real quotation. A claim attributed to a person or organization can and will be supported by an actual source.
Quotations, Interviews & Source Material
AI is not and will not be used to fabricate quotations, interviews, eyewitness accounts, documents, source identities, or statements, and then present them as genuine.
AI-assisted transcription may be used as a working aid, but material quotations can and will be checked against the original recording, transcript, document, or other source when accuracy matters.
Claims, Allegations & Sensitive Reporting
AI output cannot and will not be used as the factual basis for an accusation, allegation, criminal claim, medical claim, financial claim, or other potentially harmful assertion about an identifiable person or organization.
Those subjects require appropriate sourcing, attribution, verification, and editorial review under the publication's normal standards.
AI-Generated Images & Illustrations
AI-generated visual material used as an illustration can and will be identified as AI-generated or illustration and will not be presented as an authentic photograph of a person, place, event, crime scene, disaster, protest, public meeting, or other real-world occurrence when it is not.
The publication's story editor includes an AI-generated or illustration image classification so that this distinction can be shown to readers.
AI-Assisted Writing
AI may assist with drafting or editing, but the final published work remains the responsibility of the human editor, writer, or publisher who approves it. AI assistance does not remove the obligation to verify factual material, preserve attribution, distinguish fact from opinion, and follow the publication's story-type standards.
AI will not have a role in producing a particular article to be material to a reader's understanding of how the work was created, The Whistling Chronicle will conduct a public story-level disclosure for that role.
Confidential & Sensitive Information
Confidential-source identities, passwords, account information, private financial records, unpublished personal data, protected newsroom notes, or other sensitive information under any circumstance, will not be placed into an AI system unless the tool, authorization, and handling practices are appropriate for that information.
Public-facing Sources & References and Story Disclosures can and will contain only information intended for publication.
Story Labels Still Apply
The use of AI will not be used to write a story or decide whether a story is News, Analysis, Opinion, Review, Feature, Satire / Humor, or Sponsored. Story Type describes the editorial nature of the article. The use of any AI, if any, is a separate production and transparency issue.
Corrections & Accountability
A factual error remains a factual error regardless of whether it originated with a person, a source, a transcription system, or another part of the editorial workflow. Material errors can and will be corrected under the publication's normal Corrections, Clarifications & Updates process.
Advertising & Sponsored Material
AI assistance does not change the requirement to identify paid, commissioned, advertiser-supported, or promotional material as Sponsored when appropriate. Advertising and sponsorship remain separate from independent editorial conclusions.
The Standard
AI can assist the work. It does not replace verification, sourcing, attribution, editorial judgment, disclosure, correction, or human accountability.