Our ambition
Sandmark aspires to be the leading independent source of crypto news and analysis. We realize this will only be possible if we uphold the highest standards in gathering and presenting information.
This page outlines our guiding principles. It is not a legal or contractual code, and we may update it periodically as industry standards, regulation and newsroom practices evolve.
Editorial principles & philosophy
Sandmark upholds the following three core principles:
- Accuracy – Facts must be verified, claims supported by evidence, and content from sources reproduced accurately.
- Fairness – Every story should include relevant content and a variety of perspectives.
- Integrity – Staff are expected to uphold standards and not be swayed by outside interests.
Sandmark aims to provide traders, investors, and other readers with information to make their own decisions. We report, we do not create the news, limiting our own points of view to our Opinion section.
Sourcing and verification
- Our reporting is informed by original sources and reliable reference materials.
- Reporters are encouraged to identify multiple sources to support facts and to check the veracity of data cited by those sources in interviews, messages, reports, and charts.
- They are encouraged to scrutinize and point out discrepancies around prices, investment flows, trading volumes, business performance, and other metrics.
- We work on the basis that conversations are "on-the-record" unless we mutually agree otherwise.
- We include attribution to original reporting by other media where we summarize their content without our own source material.
Corrections and updates
- We correct factual errors that could misinform readers or materially affect people or entities mentioned in our coverage.
- Minor errors, such as typos, spacing or style corrections, are fixed without highlighting.
- When significant corrections or clarifications are required, they will be clearly marked for transparency.
Guidelines
- Everybody in our News and Research functions has agreed to follow our Editorial Policy & Style Guide, which provides detailed advice and instruction to editors, reporters, and analysts, including on sourcing and attribution.
- Our approach was informed by practices established by some of the leading names in business and financial journalism and by sources of authority on the English language itself.
- In particular, we have drawn on elements of the Associated Press Stylebook, The Bloomberg Guide to Business Journalism and The Bloomberg Way. We refer to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) for spellings.
Working with freelancers
- Freelancers commissioned by Sandmark are required to follow the same editorial standards as staff reporters.
Ownership & Editorial Independence
Funding and ownership
- Sandmark SA is privately owned and funded and does not accept donations from political organizations, charities or NGOs or any crypto exchange, coin, or token issuer.
Editorial independence
- Editorial operations are independent from commercial business development operations.
- Editorial staff exercise judgement independently from advertisers, token issuers, or market participants.
Revenue and commercial relationships
- Sandmark may accept revenue from advertising or content syndication. However, we do not publish any material on our website, social channels, or in our newsletters that promotes or directs readers toward investing or trading in specific tokenized or traditional assets in return for revenue or any other form of compensation.
- We exercise editorial discretion over content published from interviews and editorial briefings, only sharing what we believe is of interest to our readers versus what project founders or owners deem helpful to them.
- We are told that some crypto media outlets promote investment opportunities in return for a fee. This would not meet Sandmark's editorial standards.
Political independence
- Sandmark doesn't take instruction or requests for support from any political organization.
- Any employees in news or research must declare any active roles at political parties, although passive membership and voting habits may remain private.
- Sandmark's editorial board may opine on political activity, but never at the request of any specific political party or individual in politics.
Governance and oversight
- The editorial function has the final say on content published on the platform.
- Sandmark is setting up an Editorial Advisory Board to provide further scrutiny, accountability, and transparency for editorial activities.
- The board will provide an independent review of ethical standards, conflicts of interest and appeals related to editorial integrity.
Trading & investment
- We report the investment views of others without giving our own investment advice or recommendations.
- We may report whether market sentiment appears to be positive, negative or neutral, without implying that any specific trading action should be made in response.
- Our news and research staff are required to disclose any crypto holdings and trading activities, as well as company stockholdings. We may either disclose their holdings publicly or reassign work to others who don't have the same interests.
Use of AI and automation
- Sandmark uses AI-enabled tools for human-curated research, analysis of writing style and tone of voice, increasing speed and boosting productivity.
- AI-assisted tools may be used for transcription, translation, or summarization.
- Staff are encouraged to use such tools so they can focus on the things that humans do best: storytelling, judgement, socializing and conveying emotional intelligence, for example.
A Harbour for Free Speech & Critical Thought
- We believe in upholding the media’s ability to exercise freedom of thought and expression.
- We are sceptical of those in political power who appear to promote free speech while cracking down on those who disagree with them, especially when using state apparatus to do so.
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Editor’s note:
In 2017 President Trump's adviser Kellyanne Conway suggested that "There are facts and then there are alternative facts." We do not know the intention behind that remark, but we have witnessed its negative impact on public understanding of the media and political accountability.
At Sandmark, we believe there is only one set of facts – those that can be verified, tested and stood by.