Ethics.

Conflicts of interest

If a writer has a personal, financial, or professional stake in a story, we tell you. In the piece. Not at the bottom in italics, but in the body, where a reader can actually see it. If a subject of a piece is married to one of our editors or has lent money to a contributor, we say so. Anything else is a stunt.

Sources

Named sources are the default. Anonymous sources are a tool we use carefully and explain in plain language: who, roughly, the person is, why they are anonymous, and what independent context supports what they are telling us. If you ever read “sources familiar with the matter” in Souk Weekly without a follow-up sentence explaining what that means, please write in and shout at us.

On the use of AI

We use AI tools to draft, to summarise, to surface patterns we'd otherwise miss in our own reporting. Every published piece is read, edited, and signed off by a human. The machines do not have bylines. They also do not get coffee, take phone calls, or have to look someone in the eye at a launch party three months after the piece runs. Those parts of the job belong, for now, to people.

Advertising

Advertising on Souk Weekly is labelled. We do not run sponsored pieces dressed as editorial. We do not let an advertiser see a story before it runs. If we ever do start running native ads, they will be clearly marked as such, with a typography treatment so unmistakable that even a casual reader on a small phone will see the difference.

Gifts

We do not accept gifts beyond a reasonable cup of coffee. PR teams: please stop sending us welcome boxes. We are running out of room for the lavender candles.