LCN | The Reputation & Protection from Damaging and/or False Accusations Procedure 2020 (PDA)

This policy must be followed by anyone that has any role within our paper/site, and this only applies to our respective services.

LCN must, at all times, ensure that we do not publish any content that wrongly/unfairly humiliates, shames, or upsets either private individuals or commercial individuals/establishments. If anyone reports that their reputation has been wrongfully affected by LCN, a member of our team must investigate this (within 72 hours) and ensure that both their legal and moral rights have been complied with. Appropriate action may include: rewriting the article, no further action, an official apology, removal of the article, and/or the dismissal/sanctioning of our reporter(s), as well as a two-party agreement being made.

Not only is falsely defaming someone an offence in the UK, it is also a breach of our own policy (PDA). Therefore, our reporters need to be mindful and should always use both their own discretion and the long-term public interest before publishing any potentially damaging content on any of our services. Our reporters should also remain impassioned and offer any appropriate support to any potential victim(s) of defamation.