SmartNews Community Guidelines

Hello SmartNews users, we’re glad you’re here with us!

At SmartNews, we believe a healthy society depends on informed citizens, and that informed citizens require a flourishing, independent press and an open, vibrant, and respectful content-creating community.

We created this new community-sharing feature for that very purpose, and we want to outline the following values and guidelines to ensure every user feels welcome and respected.

1. We prioritize safety, accuracy, and decency
   
   Offering a safe creating environment is one of SmartNews’s top priorities. We believe that feeling secure is the first step to helping people share openly and creatively.
2. We want to promote trust and friendliness among creators
   
   The SmartNews community is built on trust. Every SmartNews user should know they’re posting content meant to inform or alert other users around them. Therefore, the content is expected to be both truthful and helpful. Thus, we encourage users to use their real names.
3. We respect diversity
   
   We respect a diversity of viewpoints and aim to be a source for varied content on timely issues. That means people of all affiliations have a place on our platform as long as they are respectful of others.
4. We have zero tolerance for the following content, which violates our terms of use and must be, under all circumstances, avoided. SmartNews content must neither include nor promote:
   
   1. Offensive or insensitive language
   2. Threats or incitement of violence or terrorism
   3. The sale or use of weapons
   4. Spam
   5. Child sexual exploitation
   6. Abuse/harassment
   7. Suicide or self-harm
   8. The sale of illegal or regulated services or goods, such as explosives, human organs, and endangered species
   9. Sensitive media, including graphic violence and adult content
   10. Misinformation or fake news
   11. Impersonation
5. Report issues if you find anything inappropriate
   
   While SmartNews will make its best effort to monitor user-generated content, we additionally need you, as a member of our community, to help keep it safe by flagging anything that you believe violates our guidelines.
6. Do not post any private information
   
   All the information users post is public. Thus, we strongly recommend not posting any confidential information, including:

   1. Personal ID: address, phone number, driver’s license, Social Security number, etc.
   2. Private details about connections and email correspondence
   3. Usernames and passwords
   4. Private documents that show bank-account, personal financial or medical information
   5. Private photos exposing unlawful activities
   6. Private medical information
7. SmartNews reserves the right to delete, block, or use any content
   
   To keep our community safe, SmartNews reserves the right to remove or temporarily block any content and any user account for any reason at any time. Users who create content shall grant SmartNews the right to use the content for marketing and promotional purposes. For more information, please refer to SmartNews Terms of Service.
8. We embrace community-based content
   
   Along with national and international news, SmartNews places a high value on quality local information. So we ask you to be your community’s eyes and ears and share the things that matter most to those closest to you. Whether it’s about a store that’s going out of business, a fallen power line, or a traffic jam, nothing is too small.
9. We value the up-to-the-minute posting
   
   SmartNews wants to be the go-to source for what’s happening now. In the digital era, important information can be delivered to a wide audience more quickly and more efficiently than ever before — with little more than a smartphone. We’re relying on users like you to provide us with up-to-the-minute info on what’s happening in your vicinity.
10. We aim to support underrepresented communities
    
    SmartNews wants to give all communities a voice. It’s critical to our mission that all people — not just a select few — feel heard and valued.