NWArkansas.

Editorial Standards

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Our goal is to be the most accurate, most useful, and most trustworthy source of information about Northwest Arkansas. These are the standards we hold ourselves to.

Accuracy

  • We source factual claims from primary documents whenever possible: public records, official statements, on-the-record interviews, and verifiable data.
  • When we aggregate from other outlets (the Democrat-Gazette, 5News, KNWA, city press releases), we credit and link to the source.
  • Business information (hours, phone, address) is pulled from Google Places, OpenStreetMap, and direct submissions from business owners through our claim portal. It's kept fresh on a rolling schedule.

Fact-checking AI-assisted content

Some of our editorial content is drafted with the help of AI tools. When this happens, we follow a simple rule: every factual claim must be traceable to a cited source. AI drafts aren't published until a human editor has verified sources, checked names and dates, and confirmed the piece reflects reality. Read our AI disclosure for the full process.

Reviews and user-generated content

Reviews on NWArkansas.com are submitted by our community. We moderate them for spam, hate speech, defamation, and clear bias (e.g., business owners reviewing their own business, competitors attacking rivals). Legitimate opinions — positive or negative — are kept as submitted.

Some early reviews are seeded from public Google Places data with proper attribution. These are clearly labeled as imported, not authored natively on NWArkansas.com.

Sponsored & affiliate content

  • Any article paid for by a business is clearly labeled "Sponsored" or "Presented by [sponsor]" above the fold and in the URL.
  • Affiliate links (where we earn a commission if you click and buy) are disclosed in a visible banner on any page containing them, following the FTC's 16 CFR Part 255 endorsement guides.
  • Sponsorship never influences our editorial judgment. Sponsored inclusion in a "Best of" list is never available for purchase.

Conflicts of interest

If our publisher or editors have a personal or financial stake in a business, organization, or property we cover, we disclose it in the article or recuse ourselves from the coverage.

Corrections

If we publish something inaccurate, we fix it quickly and transparently. Material corrections are noted at the bottom of the affected article with the date and what was changed. Read our corrections policy for how to report an issue.

Anonymity & sourcing

We prefer on-the-record sourcing. When we grant anonymity (e.g., for whistleblower reporting), we explain why in the article and verify the source's information independently.