Editorial Standards & Fact-Checking Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2026 | Last Updated: August 8, 2026

1. Our Core Mission & Journalistic Integrity

At Flobstar, our primary mandate is to deliver independent, accurate, and objective health journalism to a global audience. Medical information directly shapes public health decisions and clinical outcomes, which is why we hold ourselves to editorial standards modeled after leading global newsrooms including the BBC, Reuters, the Associated Press Health desk, and Medical News Today.

Our editorial independence is absolute. Flobstar has no financial or institutional relationships that influence what stories we cover, how we frame them, or which conclusions we draw. Every article published under our masthead reflects the judgment of our human editorial team — not advertisers, sponsors, or external stakeholders.

We believe that trustworthy health information is a public good. That belief drives every editorial decision we make.

2. Fact-Checking & Verification Process

Every factual claim, statistic, study finding, and clinical recommendation published on Flobstar is verified against authoritative, peer-reviewed medical research or official public health bodies before the article goes live. We do not publish unverified or speculative health claims.

  • Primary Sources: We prioritize peer-reviewed journals such as The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, BMJ, Nature Medicine, and JAMA, as well as government health agencies including the WHO, CDC, NCDC, EMA, and FDA.
  • Multi-Source Verification: Claims originating from a single press release or preliminary study are cross-referenced with independent subject-matter experts to assess methodology, sample size, peer-review status, and statistical significance before publication.
  • Data & Statistics Checks: Quantitative data — incidence rates, efficacy percentages, mortality metrics — are verified directly against original source data rather than secondary reporting.
  • Context & Framing: We ensure statistics are reported in context. We never present relative risk reductions without absolute numbers, and we avoid sensationalist framing of preliminary or observational data.

3. Peer Review & Medical Consultation

Articles covering complex therapeutic breakthroughs, novel drug approvals, clinical trial outcomes, or emerging epidemiological events carry a Peer Reviewed or Medically Reviewed designation when the content has been verified by a qualified medical professional, clinical pharmacist, or public health specialist on our editorial advisory board.

Our Health Library evergreen articles are reviewed on a rolling basis to ensure alignment with current clinical guidelines, updated treatment protocols, and evolving medical consensus. Each evergreen article displays its most recent review date.

When a story involves an area of genuine scientific controversy or evolving research, we clearly label that uncertainty in the article rather than presenting one interpretation as settled fact.

4. Corrections & Update Policy

Accuracy is our highest editorial priority. When an error is identified — whether reported by a reader, discovered by our team, or flagged by a source — we correct it promptly and transparently according to the following framework:

  • Substantive Corrections: If a factual error significantly alters the meaning, clinical implication, or statistical accuracy of a story, a clearly labeled correction notice is appended at the top or bottom of the article. The notice specifies what was corrected, when the correction was made, and a brief explanation of why the original information was wrong.
  • Minor Corrections: Typographical, grammatical, or formatting errors that do not affect factual content are corrected directly without a formal correction tag, but are logged internally.
  • Developing Stories: When new research, updated guidelines, or official statements materially change an earlier report, the article is updated with a visible dateModified timestamp and a brief contextual note explaining what changed and why.
  • Retractions: In rare cases where an article contains irredeemable factual errors or was based on fraudulent source material, we retract the article entirely and publish a transparent explanation.

To report a potential error or request a correction, contact our editorial board at news@flobstar.com with the subject line "Correction Request". We aim to respond within 48 hours.

5. Editorial Independence & Non-Commercial Separation

Flobstar maintains a strict and non-negotiable separation between editorial decisions and commercial operations. Advertisers, corporate sponsors, pharmaceutical partners, and institutional funders have absolutely no influence over article selection, story framing, editorial tone, headline construction, or clinical assessments.

Any sponsored content, partner features, or branded health guides are clearly and unambiguously labeled as "Sponsored Content" or "Partner Spotlight" to distinguish them from our independent editorial reporting. Sponsored content is produced in a separate workflow and is not subject to the same editorial review as independent journalism.

No member of our commercial or advertising team has the authority to alter, delay, suppress, or direct editorial content in any form.

6. Artificial Intelligence & Technology Policy

Flobstar uses advanced digital tools to assist with news monitoring, research discovery, headline testing, and copyediting workflows. However, our policy on AI involvement is clear and non-negotiable:

  • All published articles are conceptualized, reported, verified, written, edited, and approved by human medical journalists and editors.
  • AI tools are never permitted to independently generate unverified medical facts, diagnosis guidance, drug dosage information, or clinical treatment recommendations without human verification.
  • Any AI-assisted editorial element — such as automated summaries or data visualizations — is reviewed by a human editor before publication.
  • We maintain full human editorial accountability for every sentence published under the Flobstar name.

7. Diversity, Equity & Global Health Coverage

We are committed to ensuring that our health reporting reflects the diversity of the global population we serve. This means actively including health research, epidemiological data, and public health policy that is relevant to Africa, Asia, South America, and other regions underrepresented in traditional Western health media.

We do not limit our sourcing to high-income country research institutions. We regularly cite studies and policy guidance from WHO AFRO, the African CDC, NCDC Nigeria, and regional health ministries where relevant to our stories.

We are particularly attentive to avoiding stigmatizing language around diseases, mental health conditions, disability, body size, race, and gender in our health reporting.

8. Contact Our Editorial Board

We welcome feedback, corrections, editorial concerns, tip submissions, and questions about our sourcing standards. Our editorial team is reachable through the following channels:

We aim to acknowledge all editorial correspondence within 48 hours and resolve substantive issues within five business days.