Related-Party Reporting Protocol

Last updated: August 12, 2026

This protocol applies to any HeadlinesMagazine.com coverage of the publisher (XCOM.DEV), any affiliated organization listed in the Conflicts of Interest register, or any subject with a material relationship to the publication or its staff. It exists to ensure that related-party coverage is held to a higher standard than ordinary reporting and is visibly independent.

1. When this protocol applies

A story is a "related-party story" when the subject is, or is affiliated with:

XCOM.DEV or any XCOM.DEV project;
GayJustice.org;
Stichting Vrijheid & Gelijkheid;
Willen en Doen;
DigestPaper, HetNieuws.app, OnderzoekPlatform.nl, or any other entity under common control with the publisher;
any sponsor, advertiser, or donor of the publication;
any officer, director, or close associate of the above.

When in doubt, the Editor-in-Chief decides whether the protocol applies. The default is to apply it.

2. Required controls

Editorial controls

Required: An independent editor — one with no role in the affiliated organization and no material conflict — reviews and approves the story before publication.
Prohibited: A reporter who holds a role in the subject organization may not be the primary reporter on that story.
Prohibited: Pre-publication approval by the subject, the publisher, or any affiliated organization.
Prohibited: Commissioning of a related-party story by the publisher or the subject.

Sourcing controls

Required: Primary documents (filings, rulings, contracts, statements) when available.
Required: At least two independent external sources in addition to any affiliated-organization source.
Required: Right of reply to the subject and to any person or organization criticized.
Required: A genuine attempt to obtain an opposing or institutional viewpoint when material.

Disclosure controls

Required: A visible relationship disclosure on the article page, immediately below the byline.
Required: The disclosure states the nature of the relationship and confirms the subject did not commission, approve, or control the report.

3. Disclosure text

The article carries a disclosure block in the form:

Editorial disclosure: [Subject] has an organizational relationship with an entity associated with the publisher. The subject did not commission, approve, or control this report. This story was reported, edited, and approved under the Related-Party Reporting Protocol.

The exact wording may be adapted to the specific relationship, but the substance — relationship disclosed, no subject control, protocol applied — must be preserved.

4. Coverage balance

A genuinely independent newsroom must be capable of publishing positive, neutral, and critical coverage of affiliated organizations. The Editor-in-Chief periodically reviews the body of related-party coverage to confirm it is not systematically favorable or systematically suppressive.

5. Proportion of coverage

Coverage of any single affiliated organization should remain a small minority of total output. HeadlinesMagazine.com positions itself as an independent journalism and news platform covering human rights, civil liberties, law, and current affairs broadly. Related-party coverage that dominates the publication would undermine the publication's independence regardless of the quality of any single story.

6. Record-keeping

For each related-party story, the independent editor records: the subject, the relationship, the external sources used, the right-of-reply outcome, and the disclosure text. This record is retained for at least two years and may be audited.