The Sun’s editorial standards, policies and ethics

Our editorial standards and principles

The Sun is committed to upholding the highest possible editorial standards. We believe strongly in freedom of expression, and that journalism should not be unduly constrained by regulation or the law. We have a long tradition of covering news with a unique style and tone - a voice that is recognisably and distinctly ours. We are proud of it, and we want all our output to be fun, fearless and forthright.

But we also want it to be factual, where facts matter. We are regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), and we subscribe to the Editors’ Code that it oversees. Although we reject any kind of press control by the state, we are committed to observing the Editors’ Code, both in letter and spirit, and we are strong supporters of IPSO. We believe that the principles embodied by the Code - in respect of Accuracy, Privacy and the many other topics it covers - should be integral to all our journalism. We strive to ensure they are.

Our commitment to The Editors' Code of Practice

We have a Legal and Compliance team that manages all claims and complaints against The Sun. The Head of Editorial Compliance manages The Sun’s handling of complaints brought under the terms of the Editors’ Code. Complaints about editorial content are received centrally via the Editorial Complaints link on the homepage of the website and handled by a dedicated team. Any potential breach of the Code is fully investigated.

Editorial staff are offered regular training in the Editors’ Code and examples of cases adjudicated by IPSO (including ones not involving The Sun) are circulated to staff where relevant/useful.

We publish corrections in a standard ‘Corrections and Clarifications’ spot on p2 of our printed newspapers and on a dedicated online page.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

News UK’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy was launched in October 2020, making a number of commitments to increase the diversity of our workforce and the representation of wider society within our content. We are creating a pathway to 50/50 gender split across our workforce, with a 20% target of representation of ethnic minorities.

Our priorities:

• Attracting, developing and retaining young talent from a much broader pool
• Driving gender and ethnic diversity in our wider leadership
• Ensuring diversity and inclusivity in our workforce as well as the journalism and content we produce

We partner with Kickstart – the first media brand to do so – and have pledged to create up to 100 paid placements for unemployed young people, as well as launching 45 two-year long apprenticeships and establishing more than a dozen partnerships with diversity recruitment specialists. We have developed leadership programmes for people from diverse backgrounds and have introduced diversity experts across our brands.

At The Sun we have an established work experience programme aimed at helping talent from outside London to break into journalism. As a result of this initiative, in 2022 The Sun was nominated for a Social Mobility Award.

The Sun has also led the way to partner with the Randeree Charitable Trust, the COSARAF Foundation and City University to offer three months paid placement to an outstanding student facing financial hardship as part of a Widening Media Diversity Scholarship.

The overarching aim of these postgraduate scholarships is to engage with British Muslim communities and advance diversity in the media industry as well as improve reporting on minorities and religion.

The Sun was also a key partner in the creation of the Disability Journalism Forum, the industry's first ever conference aimed at increasing disabled representation across the media industry.

Our commitment to The Advertising Code

News UK seeks to inform and entertain readers through our various platforms and titles. In doing so News UK will stir debate and tackle hard hitting stories. We understand that there are certain news stories that would not be considered suitable for brands to appear against.

The News UK Advertising Policy outlines what steps News UK takes to have the infrastructure in place to ensure we avoid putting brands next to unsuitable content, and what we expect from and hold to account the brands we work with in order to, together, comply with The Advertising Code enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The Policy covers a range of topics including ad review and approval, editorial review, prohibited and restricted content and user data collection.

Transparency and commercial content

When our journalists write content that is paid for commercially, we are committed to follow the guidelines identified by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB UK).

News UK will only publish branded content and sponsored supplements if clearly indicated as an ad.
Editorial decisions will not be influenced by current or potential sponsors and advertisers, and will not be influenced by marketing decisions. Editorial can request the removal of an advert if it is felt that it contravenes the values or tone of News UK’s titles or indeed the policies we are committed to.