Publishing Principles
The Dubai Times publishing process from story selection and research through verification, publication, updates, bylines, higher-risk review and commercial separation.
Publishing Principles
Dubai Times publishes editorial content through a process intended to connect relevance, sourcing, verification, context, human editorial judgement and post-publication accountability.
These principles describe how a story moves from idea to publication and how the publication handles different content types, higher-risk claims and later updates.
Editorial Framework
Dubai Times uses a practical editorial framework built around three questions:
- What changed?
- What does it mean for readers?
- What should readers understand or do next?
The purpose is to connect developments in Dubai with their practical consequences rather than merely repeat announcements.
Publishing Lifecycle
Idea and Relevance
A topic is considered based on Dubai relevance, reader usefulness, public interest, timeliness, practical impact and whether adequate sourcing is available.
Research
Human editors and writers gather the available evidence and identify the main factual questions. Primary and authoritative sources are preferred where appropriate.
Source Evaluation
The editorial process considers how close each source is to the underlying fact, whether the source has a relevant interest and whether independent corroboration is necessary.
Draft
The article is written by a human author with a clear distinction between established facts, attribution, explanation, uncertainty, company statements and editorial interpretation.
Editorial Review
The draft is reviewed for relevance, context, clarity, unsupported conclusions, misleading wording and significant omissions.
Source and Fact Check
Material names, dates, figures, quotations, links, regulations, status information and other consequential details are checked against appropriate evidence.
Higher-Risk Review
Financial, legal, property, residency, immigration, healthcare, safety and other consequential claims receive additional caution.
Publication
The final decision depends on whether the article has an adequate factual basis, appropriate context and sufficient reader value.
Post-Publication Review
Articles may be corrected, clarified or updated when evidence changes, new information becomes available or a material error is identified.
Primary Sources
Depending on the subject, primary or authoritative sources may include:
- Dubai and UAE government authorities;
- regulators;
- laws and official guidance;
- public records;
- official datasets;
- company filings;
- official company information;
- direct attributable statements;
- responsible organisations directly involved in the subject.
Secondary Sources
Recognised research, specialist publications, industry reports and reputable secondary reporting may be used for context, comparison or corroboration.
Secondary reporting should not automatically replace an available underlying official source where the primary source directly establishes the fact.
Promotional Material
Press releases, company announcements and promotional material may be useful sources for understanding what an organisation says, plans or announces.
They do not automatically establish the truth of promotional claims, future projections, market-leadership statements or guaranteed outcomes.
Content Types
- News
- Reporting on a new or materially changed event, decision, rule, announcement or development.
- Explainer
- A structured explanation of a rule, process, policy, service or development.
- Analysis
- Interpretation based on reported facts and relevant evidence, with analysis distinguished from established facts.
- Guide
- Practical information organised to help readers understand options, procedures or decisions.
- Review
- An editorial assessment of a service, place, product or other subject.
- Ranking
- An ordered comparison based on disclosed or identifiable criteria, data or editorial assessment.
- Interview
- Content based substantially on attributable responses or conversation with an identified source.
- Methodology
- An explanation of how data, scoring, criteria or editorial assessment was produced.
Headlines and Presentation
Headlines should accurately represent the substance of the article.
A headline should not remove a qualification that materially changes the meaning of the underlying information.
Images, captions and visual material should not create a materially misleading impression.
Bylines and Authors
Articles should identify the responsible author where appropriate.
Author names should link to genuine author profile pages that explain the author's role and coverage areas.
AI is not used as an author of record.
Publication Dates
Published dates and times should correspond to the actual first publication event.
Where an article is materially updated, the updated timestamp should correspond to a genuine editorial update.
An old article should not receive a new modified date solely to make it appear fresh.
Corrections, Clarifications and Updates
Dubai Times distinguishes between:
- a correction of information that was materially wrong when published;
- a clarification where wording could create a misleading impression;
- an update reflecting information that changed after publication;
- a minor edit that does not change meaning.
Detailed procedures are available in the Corrections Policy.
Higher-Risk Topics
Additional caution applies to finance, property, residency, immigration, healthcare, legal requirements, public safety and other subjects that may materially affect reader decisions.
Consequential information is presented as general editorial information and should be verified with the responsible authority, provider or appropriately qualified professional when individual circumstances matter.
Unnamed Sources
Named and on-the-record sourcing is preferred.
Unnamed sources are used rarely and require a justified editorial reason, relevant editorial awareness of the source's identity and corroboration where possible.
See the Unnamed Sources Policy.
Reviews and Rankings
Reviews and rankings should distinguish objective data from editorial judgement.
Relevant criteria or methodology should be explained where appropriate.
Commercial and AI Boundaries
Commercial relationships do not determine editorial conclusions; current funding arrangements are described in Ownership and Funding.
AI use is limited to creating, preparing or editing images and other visual materials. See the AI Use Policy for the full workflow boundaries.
Related Policies
Editorial Contacts
Editorial: editorial@dubaitimes.org
Corrections: corrections@dubaitimes.org
Publisher Address
Dubai Gulf TowersOud Metha Road
Umm Hurair 2
Dubai, United Arab Emirates