Editorial guidelines & how we review
These are the rules our newsroom works to. They cover how we report, how we check facts, how we rate the products we cover, and how we fix mistakes. They apply to everything we publish.
Last updated August 5, 2026
Editorial independence
Our coverage is decided by our editors, not by advertisers or commercial partners. No company can pay to be reviewed, to change a rating, or to appear higher in a ranking. When a page contains affiliate links we may earn a commission — that arrangement is disclosed and it never affects our editorial judgment. The team that writes and rates our content is separate from the arrangements described in how we make money.
How we report
We start from primary sources. Rates, limits and official figures come from the institutions that set them — the Federal Reserve, FDIC, IRS, SEC, Freddie Mac, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics — or from a company's own filings and disclosures, not from other publishers.
For news, we do not publish a story on a single unverified claim. A report runs only when it is confirmed by the primary source or by at least two independent outlets. If we can't stand a fact up, we leave it out.
Fact-checking
Every number in a story is checked against its source before publication and stamped with the date we verified it. Where figures change often — interest rates, tax thresholds, net-worth estimates — we show the "as of" date so you know how fresh the number is, and we revisit the page on a schedule to keep it current.
How we review and rate products
When we rank or rate financial products, we score them against a consistent, published set of factors relevant to that category — for a savings account, things like APY, fees, minimums and access; for a credit card, the rewards rate, annual fee, APR and welcome offer. Every card, account or lender in a comparison is judged on the same criteria.
We test and use the tools where we can, read the fine print and the fee schedule, and say plainly who a product is — and isn't — right for. A rating is our editorial opinion based on those factors, not a paid placement.
Use of AI
We use AI-assisted tools to help research, draft and keep pages up to date at the speed the news moves. AI never has the final say: every story is reviewed by a human editor against its primary sources before it publishes, and a named writer is accountable for it. We do not publish AI output unchecked, and we do not use AI to invent facts, quotes or sources.
Corrections
We fix errors quickly and openly. If we get something wrong, email our editors and we'll correct it — a substantive change is noted on the page. Stories that become out of date are updated or clearly marked rather than quietly deleted, so the record and any links to it stay intact.
Who stands behind our work
Every article carries a byline and a "last updated" date. You can see each writer's experience, the areas they cover and their credentials on their profile — meet the people behind our coverage in our newsroom.