Editorial Policy
The standards that guide how Al Khabeer reports, verifies and presents contested information.
Al Khabeer publishes news, fact checks, analysis and opinion on Afghanistan, with a particular focus on terrorism, counterterrorism and regional security.
Our reporting deals frequently with contested events, conflicting accounts and information produced by governments, security institutions, militant organisations and other interested parties. The following standards guide how we handle that material.
Sourcing
We prefer original and attributable sources.
Where possible, reporting is based on official statements, primary documents, direct evidence, credible local reporting, specialist research and verifiable open-source material.
Claims made by governments, Taliban authorities, security institutions, terrorist or militant organisations and other interested parties are attributed to the source unless they can be independently corroborated.
We do not publish a claim simply because it is widely repeated.
Verification
Names, dates, locations, casualty figures, images and video are checked against the available evidence before publication.
When independent verification is not possible, we make that limitation clear rather than presenting uncertainty as fact.
Archive, illustrative or file imagery is identified as such and is never presented as material recorded at the scene of an event.
Militant claims and propaganda
Claims of responsibility, casualty figures and operational statements issued by terrorist or militant organisations are treated as claims, not established facts.
We report such material when it has legitimate news or analytical value, but we do not reproduce propaganda simply for spectacle or amplification.
Where competing accounts exist, we identify them and explain what can and cannot be independently established.
Graphic and extremist material
Graphic imagery and extremist propaganda are used only when there is a clear editorial reason.
We avoid unnecessarily reproducing material that glorifies violence, serves primarily as propaganda or adds little to the reader’s understanding of an event.
Where disturbing material is necessary for reporting or verification, appropriate context or warnings are provided.
News, analysis and opinion
News reports, analysis and opinion serve different purposes and are labelled accordingly.
News reporting establishes what happened and what can be verified.
Analysis interprets developments using available evidence and context.
Opinion pieces may argue a position, but factual claims within them remain subject to the same standards of accuracy as the rest of our work.
Corrections
When a factual error is confirmed, we correct it promptly.
Material changes to a published article are acknowledged rather than quietly removing the mistake. Minor typographical or formatting changes do not normally require a correction note.
See our corrections policy for how to report an error.
Conflicts of interest
Contributors are expected to disclose financial, professional or personal interests that could reasonably affect or appear to affect their work.
Where a conflict cannot be adequately disclosed or managed, the material will not be published.