COFAX may use artificial-intelligence and automation tools to support journalism, but never to replace editorial responsibility. A human editor is accountable for every published item.
Permitted assistance
- Organising research and suggesting questions or story structures.
- Transcription, translation and summarisation that is checked against the source.
- Spreadsheet, coding and data-analysis assistance reviewed by a competent person.
- Copy-editing, accessibility support and production tasks.
- Generating internal drafts or ideas that are substantially reviewed before publication.
Prohibited uses
- Inventing quotations, sources, events, evidence or first-hand reporting.
- Publishing fully automated RSS rewrites or unreviewed generated articles.
- Creating a false author identity or presenting a machine as a human journalist.
- Uploading confidential source material, unpublished personal data or legally restricted information to an unapproved system.
- Presenting a synthetic image, audio recording or video as an authentic record.
- Using automated output to make high-impact allegations without independent verification.
Disclosure
Routine assistance such as spell-checking or transcription does not normally require a label. Material generated or altered by AI is disclosed when a reasonable reader could otherwise misunderstand its origin, authenticity or significance. Synthetic or illustrative media is clearly labelled in the caption.
Verification and corrections
AI output is not a source. Names, figures, citations and factual claims must be checked against reliable evidence. Errors involving automated tools are corrected under the same Corrections Policy as any other error.
Last reviewed: 4 August 2026.