Editorial Standards & Ethics

Last updated: April 29, 2026

Proof Street operates under the standards below. We publish them so
readers, sources, sponsors, and the subjects of our coverage know
what to expect.

Independence

Proof Street is editorially independent. The editor sets editorial
direction without external input. Sponsors, sources, subjects of
coverage, and any other party do not see articles before publication.
They do not approve coverage decisions, story selection, framing,
sourcing, or conclusions.

Mission and scope

Proof Street covers privacy-preserving computation as an infrastructure
category. Our coverage spans ZK, FHE, MPC, and TEE; the companies
building privacy infrastructure; the institutions deploying it; the
auditors and researchers testing it; and the regulatory environment
shaping what can be deployed where.

We do not cover token markets, trading, or price action. We do not
publish investment advice. We are not a vulnerability disclosure
venue.

Sourcing

We prefer named sources at recognized
institutions, primary documents (papers, filings, code, official
statements), and on-the-record interviews.

We use anonymous sources only when:

  • The source has direct knowledge of the matter
  • Attribution would carry professional, legal, or personal risk for
    the source
  • The editor knows the source's identity and has verified their
    position

When we use anonymous sources, we describe why anonymity was granted
in enough detail for the reader to assess the source's standing
without identifying them.

We do not use single-source anonymous claims for controversial
factual matters. We seek corroboration from a second independent
source or primary documents.

We link to primary sources wherever they exist, rather than to
secondary coverage of those sources.

Interviews

Interviewees are told the topic in advance. Conversations are
recorded with the interviewee's consent.

Interviewees may review their own direct quotes for factual accuracy
before publication. They may not:

  • Approve, alter, or veto the article itself
  • Change the framing, headline, or other interviewees' quotes
  • Add quotes that were not part of the recorded conversation

"On background" and "off the record" requests are respected if made
before the relevant exchange.

Sponsorship and the editorial firewall

Sponsors fund the publication. Sponsors do not fund individual
articles. There are no sponsored posts, no paid placements presented
as editorial, and no paid review of sponsors' products.

Sponsors are listed publicly on the Disclosures page and in the site
footer.

Sponsorship does not influence:

  • Which stories we cover
  • What we conclude
  • Which sources we use
  • The order, framing, or prominence of coverage
  • Whether and how we cover sponsors' competitors

When a sponsor's company is the focus of a piece, the article carries
a top-of-page disclosure noting the sponsorship relationship and
linking to this policy.

Sponsors do not have:

  • Advance access to articles
  • Copy approval
  • Takedown rights
  • The right to require or prevent coverage of any specific company,
    technology, or topic
  • The right to exclude competitors from coverage

Coverage of sponsors' direct competitors is not avoided, delayed, or
softened.

Right of reply

Subjects of substantively critical coverage are contacted for comment
before publication and provided reasonable time to respond, typically
48 hours and longer for complex matters.

If a subject declines to respond or does not respond within the
provided window, we note it in the article.

If a subject responds with substantive new information after
publication, we update the article accordingly and note the update.

Embargoes

We honor embargoes we have explicitly agreed to. We do not accept
embargoes that prevent us from covering a story fairly, that require
us to clear coverage with the source, or that bundle multiple
unrelated subjects.

AI and automation

AI tools are used at Proof Street for research support, transcription,
copy editing, and structural editing.

Articles are written and edited by humans. AI-generated text is not
published.

Plagiarism and attribution

Plagiarism is grounds for retraction and the termination of any
contributor relationship.

Direct quotation requires attribution. Paraphrased ideas require
attribution. Reuse of another publication's reporting requires
attribution and, where substantive, a link to the original.

Reader feedback

We accept reader feedback at news@proofstreet.xyz.

Republication

Articles published by Proof Street may be quoted with attribution and
a link to the original. Wholesale republication, translation, or
commercial reuse requires written permission.

Questions about these standards: news@proofstreet.xyz