It also requires adherence to practices most likely to serve the public need. It is, therefore, the moral duty of committed journalists and their news organizations to promote such standards of practice. The Society of Professional Journalists adopts this Code of Ethics to declare the Society's principles and standards of practice. Truth-telling and accuracy are morally imperative. Test the accuracy of information from all sources, recognizing that many sources may provide self-serving and misleading information.
Exercise care to avoid inadvertent inaccuracy.
Deliberate distortion is never permissible. Never publish unsubstantiated or anonymous defamatory statements about a person. When information of overriding public importance cannot reasonably be obtained by honest methods, use deceptive methods in gathering information only if they are explained to the public at the time of publication. Never manipulate quotations, pictures, or headlines in ways that might deceive. Distinguish and separate news reports, reenactments, expressions of opinion, advertising, and entertainment.