Ethics & Standards Policy

MoneyHole publishes satire. That does not exempt us from having standards; it means the standards are the only thing separating us from a newsletter. This policy governs every piece published under the MoneyHole byline.

I. Accuracy

1.1 Everything MoneyHole publishes is fictional. Within that fiction, we are rigorously accurate. If we report a Roth IRA balance compounding at 7% over thirty-two years, that math is correct. Our facts are invented; our arithmetic is not.

1.2 Dollar figures are stated to the cent. Percentages are stated to one decimal. The copy desk holds an absolute veto over any figure described as "roughly," "about," or "some."

1.3 Real institutions named in our coverage are named for purposes of parody and commentary. Anything we attribute to them is invented and did not occur. We do not fabricate quotations from real, living private individuals.

1.4 Datelines identify where a story is set. Stories reported from the newsroom carry an Omaha dateline. We do not invent a city to make a story sound better travelled.

II. Sourcing

2.1 MoneyHole grants anonymity to sources who are not real, on request.

2.2 Documents described as "obtained by MoneyHole" were obtained by MoneyHole, in the sense that we made them.

2.3 A single source is sufficient when that source is us.

2.4 We honor embargoes. We have never been offered one.

III. Independence

3.1 No one in the newsroom may hold a position in any instrument we cover. Compliance with this rule has been effortless.

3.2 Advertising is sold separately from editorial and does not influence coverage. Sponsors learn what we are working on when readers do.

3.3 Gifts valued above $25 must be disclosed and either returned or, where return is impractical, eaten.

3.4 We do not accept payment from any subject of coverage.

IV. Corrections

4.1 MoneyHole corrects errors of fact, arithmetic, spelling, and attribution. See our Corrections Policy.

4.2 We do not unpublish. A piece that should not have run remains available with an editor's note explaining why it should not have run. Deleting the record is the only error we consider unrecoverable.

V. Reader Response

5.1 Reader responses are moderated for civility, not agreement.

5.2 Readers who identify an error will receive a correction and, where warranted, credit in it.

VI. Waivers

6.1 Any provision of this policy may be waived by the editors in writing.

6.2 No waiver has ever been requested, because no one on staff has read this far.

Questions regarding this policy: standards@moneyhole.news

Last reviewed: on publication.