CNM Code of Ethics

General Description:

Causa Natura Media (CNM) emerges from the need for socio-environmental journalism that responds to the challenges of the countries that make up the Americas, through independent, truthful and in-depth information.

CNM is a medium promoted by the non-profit organization Causa Natura, which also supports the Causa Natura Center think tank.

Although it is possible to share hard data or scientific evidence produced by both organizations, both journalists and researchers carry out their work separately.

Thus, the trust placed by sources in CNM journalists is managed, exclusively, with journalistic standards. (Learn more about the differences between CNM and CN Center.)

Doing journalism involves an ethical exercise. From this account, we make public the code of ethics to which journalists who work at CNM and journalists collaborating with this media will adhere.

Accuracy:

• Our reporting values honesty, transparency and rigor, so that our work presents the facts in the most professional way possible.

• Our journalism should be based on independence and not on personal or source preferences. Our methods of collecting information will be objective.

• When errors are made, they will be amended as soon as possible and under our error correction policy. This includes amending the information in the same places where an error was previously published.

• We do not alter audiovisual materials, except in cases that are intended to improve the quality of an image or audio. In the case of illustrations, it will be made explicit that they are an illustration.

Regarding sources, journalists:

• They will not impersonate other people when it comes to obtaining information, but they will always identify themselves as journalists in this medium.

• Under no circumstances will they pay to get information.

• They will not directly or indirectly accept gifts from sources, gifts, or perks. In the event of any conflict of interest between a journalist and his sources, the journalist shall have the duty to inform his superior.

• The reproduction of the statements will be accurate, in the case of a syntactic edition, for a better understanding, the interviewee's meaning of the words and their context must be respected.

• CNM is not responsible for the opinions expressed by the authors in the opinion section called Column.

• CNM will grant the right of reply when the subjects mentioned in a news article consider that they fall into an unfounded disqualification.

• When issues are addressed, all parties involved will be sought so that they have the opportunity to give their version, in particular CNM will make efforts to contact those parties that are the target of criticism from third parties. All information collected in the versions will be subject to factual verification.

• CNM will provide anonymity when source security is jeopardized. Such information will only be used when the source is reliable and there is no other way to obtain it. The identity of the person will be shared by the reporter with the person in charge of the journalism team and will be kept confidential.

• The work carried out when drafting journalistic works will be linked to respect for the dignity of individuals, and special sensitivity will be given to the processing of information on victims, minors, convicts, vulnerable groups, human rights and others, depending on the case.

• Prior to an interview, the meaning of the terms on the record and off the record will be explained to the sources. All interviews for this medium will be on the record, unless otherwise agreed.

• CNM is committed to transparency so it will be able to take positions of activism in matters such as freedom of expression, access to public data, laws on access to information and the importance of unconventional media. None of these are considered political issues.

Sponsorships and Donations

• Causa Natura Media journalists will occasionally participate in other activities, only in their capacity as journalists, such as the moderation of panels, spaces to talk about their work or appear in events organized by CNM. Neither journalists nor their editorial work will be linked to sponsorships or donations made for such events.

• CNM will accept sponsorships that do not compromise its editorial integrity. From this account, the “advertisements”, “advertisements” will be published on the website in a distinctive way so that it is clear that they do not correspond to the journalistic work or the editorial team.

• If there are advertising reports, these will be labeled as such. And if an article mentions any of our donors, their donor status will be mentioned at the bottom of the article.

• Those who contribute to Causa Natura Media do so on the understanding that we do journalism, which involves communicating to our donors that their contributions do not grant them preferential treatment or exclude them from being subject to scrutiny.

• CNM will provide political news coverage (not propaganda) and will not make deals with politicians, nor will it receive money from political actors who intend to influence its agenda.

• Journalists' public appearances for their work at CNM should be limited to exposing the facts reported and not to giving personal opinions about them.

Artificial Intelligence

• We will not publish content generated by Artificial Intelligence tools unless it has been verified by a journalist.

• Information from AI will be considered “unverified”, so it will be the job of journalists to verify it. Under no circumstances will Artificial Intelligence be our primary source of information.

• Journalists will be prohibited from entering personal data information into an AI tool, nor will they be able to access sensitive documents or information that has been entrusted to them by a source.

• Journalists will be able to experiment with AI tools and use it for specific tasks, but they must communicate to their superiors how they are used and in what instance of reporting or generating their content.

• The use of AI tools other than those for the purpose of generating journalistic information will be allowed to CNM members if it is for the purpose of improving work efficiency.

Code compliance:

• In the event of a complaint or complaint of violation of this code of ethics, CNM members may let their supervisor or, ultimately, the director of CNM know.

• All members of Causa Natura Media and members of areas that work with CNM under the roof of Causa Natura should read this code of ethics.

• No employee who in good faith reports a breach of this code of ethics will be retaliated against.

• If you have questions about the application of this code of ethics, you are encouraged to ask the CNM journalism manager.