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Editorial Policy

Scope
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This editorial policy reflects Lucerna’s voluntary commitment to accuracy, fairness and transparency in research publishing. It is not an acknowledgment of obligations under press legislation or media regulation.

Editorial Responsibility
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The responsible editor for all content published on Lucerna is the FolkUp Editorial Board. We take full editorial responsibility for every article published on this platform.

Content Production Workflow
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Every article on Lucerna undergoes the following process:

  1. Research — topic investigation using multiple sources, cross-referenced for accuracy
  2. Writing — content drafted with full source attribution
  3. Verification — claims checked against primary and secondary sources using our fact verification methodology
  4. Review — editorial review by a named reviewer (recorded in article metadata as reviewed_by)
  5. Publication — approved content published with status, confidence level, and source count

Content production is supported by automated tools. All content undergoes human editorial review before publication.

AI Assistance Disclosure (EU AI Act Art. 50)
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Some materials on Lucerna are prepared with artificial intelligence tools to accelerate research and information structuring. All content undergoes human editorial review before publication. Editorial responsibility is held by FolkUp Editorial Board. AI-assisted content is identified in article metadata (reviewed_by / review_date fields).

For the full site-wide disclaimer, see Disclaimer.

Quality Indicators
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Each article displays:

  • Status — verified, partially verified, unverified, or draft
  • Confidence — high, medium, or low
  • Sources count — number of sources consulted
  • Reviewer — who reviewed and approved the article
  • Review date — when the editorial review was completed

Corrections and Takedowns
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If you find factual errors in our content, please contact [email protected]. We review all correction requests promptly.

We will correct content when:

  • A verifiable factual error is identified
  • New information materially changes the accuracy of our reporting
  • Attribution or sourcing needs updating

We will remove content when:

  • A court order or binding legal decision requires it
  • Continued publication poses a disproportionate risk to a private individual’s rights
  • The content no longer serves a legitimate public interest

All corrections and removals are documented publicly (date, nature of change, reason). We do not remove content solely because it is unfavorable to its subject.

PII Protection
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When our investigations involve private individuals (as opposed to public figures), we apply the following safeguards:

  • All personal identifiers are redacted before publication
  • We conduct a re-identification audit to ensure that remaining visible data does not allow identification with reasonable effort
  • Unique combinations of attributes are generalized (e.g., specific employer → “major investment bank”)
  • We never publish private communications or data obtained through unauthorized access

Our goal is to demonstrate methodology and share findings of public interest — not to expose individuals.

Naming of Individuals
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When our investigations reference real people by name, we apply a three-part test:

  1. Public interest — the individual’s actions have demonstrable public relevance (e.g., corporate fraud, regulatory violations, public safety)
  2. Proportionality — the level of identification is proportionate to the public interest served. We do not name individuals when anonymized data would serve the same purpose
  3. Professional capacity — we reference individuals in their professional or public roles, not their private lives

We distinguish between:

  • Public figures (company directors, officials, public-facing professionals) — may be named when acting in their public capacity
  • Private individuals — anonymized by default, identified only when strictly necessary for the investigation’s integrity

All naming decisions are documented in the article’s editorial metadata and reviewed before publication.

Right of Reply
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If you are the subject of one of our investigations, you may:

  1. Request corrections to factual errors — contact [email protected]
  2. Submit a response — we will publish your unedited comment alongside our research

We review editorial requests promptly and will acknowledge receipt.

Data Subject Rights (GDPR)
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Separately from editorial matters, if your personal data appears in our publications, you may exercise your rights under GDPR:

  1. Access the data we have processed about you (Art. 15)
  2. Rectification of inaccurate data (Art. 16)
  3. Erasure of your data where applicable (Art. 17)
  4. Object to processing (Art. 21)

Contact: [email protected] — we respond within 30 days as required by GDPR Art. 12(3).

Data subject requests are handled separately from editorial decisions. Removal of personal data does not necessarily result in removal of the underlying research, which may be maintained in anonymized form where public interest justifies continued publication.

Funding Transparency
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Lucerna is funded entirely by voluntary donations via Ko-fi. We have no corporate sponsors, no advertising revenue, and no paid content. Our editorial decisions are not influenced by financial considerations.

Independence
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Lucerna operates independently. Our research is not sponsored, commissioned, or influenced by any external party. Investigations are conducted in the public interest.