Author and Contributor Standards

Purpose and Scope

DeshiAI publishes work by writers, researchers, technology professionals, AI practitioners, subject specialists, students, creators, independent observers and people with relevant professional or lived experience. Everyone whose work appears under the DeshiAI name is expected to follow the same core standards covering identity, accuracy, originality, evidence, rights, disclosure and accountability.

Being a contributor does not reduce editorial responsibility. A guest article, commissioned feature, interview, opinion article, technology review, AI analysis, research piece or external contribution is not published simply because the author is well known, professionally qualified, commercially useful or connected with a recognised institution. The central consideration is whether the work is accurate, original, relevant, properly supported, honestly presented and useful to DeshiAI readers.

These standards apply to staff writers, freelance contributors, commissioned authors, guest writers, columnists, researchers, technology specialists, interviewers, photographers, illustrators, audio and video contributors, translators, data analysts, technical reviewers, commercial-content writers, institutional contributors, protected pseudonymous contributors and anyone whose work appears under an individual or collective DeshiAI byline.

Real and Accountable Authorship

Every public author identity must correspond to a real and accountable person unless a protected identity has been approved for a documented safety reason. DeshiAI does not routinely publish articles under administrative usernames, fictitious experts, synthetic journalists, invented editorial personalities, undisclosed client identities, agency-controlled false bylines or the name of someone who did not actually create or meaningfully direct the work.

A collective or institutional byline may be appropriate for genuine collaborative research, editorial announcements, ongoing coverage, technical projects or publication-wide initiatives. It must not be used to hide authorship, sponsorship, conflicts of interest or commercial control. The responsible editor must know who produced the work and who accepts responsibility for its contents.

Author Name and Public Identity

Authors normally publish using their real professional or public name. The name should remain reasonably consistent across the article byline, author profile, structured data, contributor records, image credits, social promotion and correction records. A shortened name, middle name, spelling variation or professional name may be used when it accurately identifies the same person and does not create confusion.

An author must not adopt a name designed to impersonate another individual, conceal an interested company or organisation, or manufacture authority that the person does not possess.

Pseudonyms and Protected Identities

A pseudonym may be considered when publication of an author’s commonly known identity could create a credible risk of physical harm, political retaliation, employment consequences, unlawful discrimination, serious harassment, family danger, legal persecution or exposure of a protected source. A pseudonym is not intended to avoid professional accountability, conceal a client relationship, publish unsupported allegations or separate promotional activity from an individual’s established reputation.

The responsible editor must know and verify the contributor’s actual identity. Where disclosure would not create additional risk, the public profile may explain that a protected name is being used. The need for continued protection may be reviewed if circumstances materially change.

Biography and Credentials

An author biography gives readers useful context about the person’s relationship to the subject. It may include current employment, relevant professional experience, academic or technical background, research interests, published work, industry experience, regional knowledge, lived experience, current material interests and areas regularly covered.

Biographies must not contain invented or inflated qualifications, degrees, awards, job titles, previous employers, memberships, publications, clients, years of experience, research appointments, government positions, media appearances, geographic presence or institutional endorsements. Where a qualification, senior position or specialist claim is central to an author’s authority, DeshiAI may verify it before publication.

Formal qualifications are not the only legitimate source of knowledge. Professional practice, independent research, community experience and lived experience can provide meaningful expertise when represented accurately. An author should not be presented as a specialist outside the person’s actual competence. Work entering another technical or specialist field may require additional sourcing, expert review, narrower claims, co-authorship, a different format or rejection.

Originality

Submissions must be original unless DeshiAI has expressly agreed to republication, syndication, adaptation, translation or licensing. Prohibited practices include plagiarism, unattributed copying, article spinning, superficial rewriting of another publication, undisclosed republication, submitting another person’s work, fabricated interviews, invented reporting, mass-produced automated material, stitched summaries presented as independent analysis, copying research notes without examining the underlying sources, translating another person’s article and claiming it as original, or publishing agency or client material under an independent personal byline.

Originality does not mean that every fact must be newly discovered. It means the contributor provides a genuine contribution through reporting, research, reasoning, explanation, evidence, synthesis or informed perspective.

Prior Publication and Simultaneous Submission

Authors must disclose whether a submission has appeared elsewhere, substantially overlaps another article, is being considered by another publication, has been adapted from a report, thesis, speech, newsletter or corporate document, was originally published in another language, was commissioned by another organisation or is subject to exclusivity.

DeshiAI may decline simultaneous submissions where another publication could publish substantially the same material without notice.

Previously published work is accepted only through a clear republication, adaptation, translation or syndication arrangement. Relevant original sources and publication history should be disclosed where necessary.

Evidence Responsibility

The author is responsible for identifying the basis of significant factual claims and, where appropriate, preserving primary documents, source links, interview recordings, transcripts, contemporaneous notes, datasets, calculations, technical testing records, images, permissions, translations, correspondence and requests for response.

An author must not rely on a source that has not been opened, read or otherwise examined simply because an automated system or another article referenced it. Contributors should clearly distinguish verified fact, allegation, official statement, estimate, inference, prediction, expert assessment, personal experience and opinion.

For technology and AI reporting, claims about products, models, capabilities, benchmarks, security, privacy, performance, funding, releases and technical architecture should be supported by appropriate primary documentation or reliable independent evidence wherever reasonably available.

Quotations and Interviews

Authors must represent interview subjects faithfully. Material quotations should be checked against a recording, transcript, contemporaneous notes, written statement or direct confirmation. Authors must not invent quotations, deceptively combine separate statements, remove decisive context, present paraphrases as direct quotations, increase certainty through translation, attribute a representative’s statement directly to another individual without explanation or publish information contrary to an agreed off-the-record condition.

Material editing, translation or reconstruction of an interview should be disclosed where relevant. Anonymous sources require appropriate editorial approval and should not receive anonymity merely for convenience.

Sources and Attribution

Authors should seek the most direct and reliable evidence reasonably available. Interested-party sources must be identified to the editor. When another publication or researcher produced original reporting, DeshiAI should give appropriate credit. Multiple websites repeating the same originating claim do not constitute independent confirmation.

Authors are expected to follow DeshiAI’s applicable Sources and Citation Policy and cooperate when editors request original evidence, documentation or clarification.

Conflicts of Interest

Every author and contributor must disclose material interests before publication. These may include employment, consulting work, client relationships, ownership interests, investments, tokens or digital assets, board or advisory positions, political office, lobbying, campaign activity, litigation, personal disputes, family relationships, gifts, travel, hospitality, free products, affiliate income, early product access, research funding, organisational membership, promised future work or payment from an interested party.

The responsible editor determines whether the interest requires public disclosure, additional review, recusal, reassignment, a different format or rejection. Contributors should not independently decide that their own interest is too minor to be relevant.

Commercial Relationships

Authors must disclose whether a proposed article is connected to an employer, client, agency, sponsor, investor, campaign, product, service, affiliate programme, reputation-management project, public-relations assignment, paid placement, backlink arrangement or another commercial benefit.

Ordinary contributor submissions must not be used to disguise commercial material. A person writing on behalf of a company, agency or client should use the appropriate commercial or clearly identified institutional route.

Removing obvious advertising language does not turn sponsored or commercially controlled content into independent editorial work.

Gifts, Access and Benefits

Authors must disclose material product loans, free devices or software, subscriptions, demonstrations, event admission, travel, accommodation, meals, gifts, discounts, exclusive access, datasets, technical assistance and future commercial opportunities that could reasonably affect how a subject is covered.

A company, developer, vendor or organisation providing access must not receive a right to determine the article’s conclusion. Relevant arrangements may be disclosed publicly where a reasonable reader would consider them important to understanding the coverage.

Political and Advocacy Roles

An author may hold political, social, technological or ideological views. Where relevant to an article, a material formal role should be disclosed, including candidacy, party office, campaign employment, government appointment, lobbying, advocacy leadership, paid campaigning, policy consulting, significant political activity or close family involvement.

An author connected to an advocacy organisation may provide informed analysis, but the relationship should not be concealed from readers when it is material to the subject being discussed.

Artificial Intelligence and Automation

Authors must disclose material use of AI or automated systems in preparing published work where that use could affect the substance or reliability of the article. Relevant disclosure may include the type of system used, its purpose, material generated, information entered, verification performed, confidential information involved, synthetic images, audio or video, automated translation, automated analysis, generated code, known limitations and rights reviewed.

AI output is not treated as evidence by itself. The author remains responsible for every factual statement, quotation, source, citation, translation, number, image, disclosure, legal reference, technical explanation and conclusion.

Routine spellchecking, grammar assistance or minor formatting support may not require article-level disclosure. Substantial undisclosed automated generation, fabricated citations, invented facts or unverified AI material may result in rejection, correction or retraction.

Confidentiality and Personal Data

Authors must not unnecessarily collect, transmit, store or publish identity documents, private addresses, account information, medical records, passwords, private keys, confidential source identities, children’s personal information, intimate material, biometric information, unpublished legal documents or other sensitive data.

Sensitive records must not be entered into third-party AI services or ordinary shared systems without appropriate authorisation and a suitable risk assessment. Editors should be informed before confidential, security-sensitive or personally identifying material is transmitted or published.

Copyright and Rights

The author must have the necessary rights to submit all text, photographs, charts, screenshots, audio, video, datasets, translations, illustrations, quotations, documents and code included in the work.

Contributors should identify third-party copyright, licences, attribution requirements, embargoes, confidentiality obligations, contractual restrictions, image releases, trademark considerations, personality rights and other permissions. A source credit does not replace permission where permission is legally required.

Images and Multimedia

Authors must provide accurate information concerning image creator, source, date, location, rights, people depicted, editing, synthetic generation, caption, consent and intended use.

Synthetic or AI-generated imagery must not be presented as documentary evidence. A photograph of an unrelated individual must not be used to create a misleading association between that person and alleged misconduct, technology claims, events or organisations.

Links and Search Integrity

Links published by DeshiAI remain subject to editorial control. Contributors must not require promotional anchor text, particular technical link attributes, permanent commercial links, hidden affiliate tracking, links to unsafe or deceptive websites, irrelevant company links, purchased backlinks or publication conditions based on search-engine benefit.

DeshiAI may add, remove, replace or technically qualify links. A source link should support the specific claim or information being presented rather than merely point to a page that mentions the same general subject.

Editing and Publication Authority

DeshiAI may edit contributed material for accuracy, fairness, structure, clarity, length, language, headlines, legal considerations, privacy, source protection, conflicts, disclosures, accessibility, house style, metadata, search presentation, copyright and consistency with published policies. Where reasonably possible, material changes to an author’s central argument will be discussed with the contributor.

DeshiAI retains final authority over classification, headline, publication timing, disclosures, source notes, correction notes, images, page structure, links, metadata and whether an article is published.

An author may withdraw work before publication unless a specific agreement states otherwise. DeshiAI is not required to publish a version of an article that it cannot reasonably verify, defend or responsibly present.

Corrections and Post-Publication Duties

Authors are expected to cooperate promptly with factual verification, correction requests, formal complaints, rights of reply, source questions, conflict reviews, legal reviews, disclosure updates, retractions and archive checks.

A contributor should not publicly attack an individual merely for raising a good-faith concern. When an error is confirmed, the author should assist in identifying the correct information and appropriate correction. Publication does not end the contributor’s responsibility for the work.

Contributor Conduct

Contributors are expected to communicate professionally with editors, sources, subjects, other writers, readers, commercial personnel, translators, photographers and external reviewers.

DeshiAI does not tolerate harassment, discrimination, threats, retaliation, source coercion, deliberate misrepresentation, plagiarism of another contributor, concealment of client work, manipulation of evidence, identity falsification or misuse of confidential information.

Payment, Rights and Rejection

Payment terms are agreed in writing where applicable. A commissioning agreement may specify scope, length, format, deadline, fee, expenses, exclusivity, rights, revisions, cancellation terms, disclosure, confidentiality and post-publication cooperation.

Unless otherwise agreed, unsolicited guest submissions are not presumed to be paid. No unofficial intermediary may guarantee publication or represent that payment guarantees acceptance.

DeshiAI may reject a proposal or article because of insufficient originality, inadequate evidence, limited public value, conflicts of interest, hidden commercial purpose, plagiarism, excessive legal risk, lack of rights, unsuitable format, limited editorial capacity, poor editorial fit, false identity, unsafe material, undisclosed substantial AI generation, inability to verify important claims or duplication.

Rejection does not necessarily mean that the subject, viewpoint or underlying argument is false.

Breaches and Declaration

A breach may result in clarification, additional editing, rejection, suspension, removal of links, public disclosure, correction, reclassification, termination of an assignment, retraction, removal of published material or termination of the contributor relationship.

The response will take into account seriousness, intent, repetition, potential harm and the effect on the public record.

DeshiAI may require contributors to confirm their real identity, biography, originality, source basis, conflicts, commercial relationships, AI use, rights, confidentiality, prior publication and acceptance of correction responsibilities.

A false contributor declaration is considered a serious breach of these standards.

Contact

Contributor proposals may be sent to contributors@deshiai.in. Editorial questions may be sent to editorial@deshiai.in. Complaints concerning contributor conduct may be sent to complaints@deshiai.in.