Skip to content
Our Standards
Something not making sense? Ask us to decode it

Bylines & Anonymous Sources

Last updated

At HeadLines Decoded, a byline tells you who did the reporting and who stands behind the work. Most of what we publish carries one. When it does not, or when a source is not named, we follow the rules on this page so that clarity is not lost in the noise.

Bylines

We put a name on a story when that person reported, wrote, or substantially shaped it. A byline is a public claim of responsibility. It means the named journalist verified the facts to the best of their ability, applied our standards, and is accountable for a correction if something is wrong. Where a piece reflects the newsroom rather than a single reporter, it runs under the HeadLines Decoded name, and the Editor-in-Chief is responsible for it.

Anonymous sources

We prefer sources on the record. Named sources let you judge credibility for yourself. Anonymity is a tool we use sparingly, only when the public value of the information is high and the risk to the source is real, and an editor must approve it before publication. When we grant it, we still verify: an anonymous source is a reason to report harder, not a shortcut around checking.

What anonymity does not buy

  • It does not let us publish an accusation we cannot otherwise support. We do not launder a claim through an unnamed source we would not stand behind ourselves.
  • It does not free a source from accuracy. If an anonymous source proves wrong or acted in bad faith, we may reconsider the confidentiality we extended.
  • It does not happen by accident. Off-the-record status must be agreed in advance, not assumed after the fact, and reporters do not make promises of confidentiality they cannot keep.

Telling you what we can

When we use an unnamed source, we try to tell you why they were granted anonymity and what vantage point they have, for example a person with direct knowledge of a decision, so the attribution still means something. A promise of confidentiality is a commitment by the whole newsroom, and we honour it.

How we check what sources tell us is described in Verification and Fact-Checking.