Community rules

Discussion here is for adding to the story: context, local knowledge, sources, disagreement. Strong opinions and criticism of governments, officials, public figures and this site are welcome.

Not allowed

• Harassment or abuse aimed at another reader or a private person
• Hate against people for their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability
• Threats of violence, or encouraging violence against anyone
• Support for terrorism or violent extremism
• Any sexualisation of children
• Explicit sexual content
• Personal details of private people (addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, workplaces) or naming private victims
• Spam, scams, advertising and pump schemes
• Selling drugs, weapons or stolen data, and other fraud
• False information likely to cause real harm, such as fake cures or telling people to ignore official safety advice

How comments are checked

• Only signed-in readers who passed the human check can comment, and only with an X account at least 30 days old.
• Links are not allowed in comments. To point to a report or a statement, use "Suggest a source" on the story, which checks the link first.
• Posting limits are tighter for X accounts that are not verified, there is a short wait between comments, and only a couple of accounts can comment from the same connection each day.
• Nothing appears until it has been checked. Every comment goes through banned-term lists in 25 languages and an automated review of what the comment does, not just the words it uses. Words like "attack" or "bomb" are normal in news discussion.
• If the automated check is unavailable, comments wait. They are never published unchecked.
• Readers can report a comment (X accounts under 30 days old cannot report yet). When reports from enough readers add up (trusted readers count more), the comment is hidden and checked again. If it passes a second time and is reported again, a person decides, and it stays up meanwhile.
• Community moderators are readers who earned the role over time: at least 30 days here, a trusted account, no strikes, comments other readers found useful, and accurate reports. A moderator's report hides a comment until it is re-checked. Moderators cannot delete anything.

Strikes

• First breach: a warning.
• Second breach within 180 days: no posting for 7 days.
• Third breach within 180 days: the account is removed from the platform and its comments are hidden.
• Threats of violence, terrorism and any sexualisation of children lead to removal on the first breach.

Appeals

Every strike can be appealed once, from the discussion section of any story, including by a removed account. Appeals get a second, separate automated review that looks at the comment again with your explanation; we can step in and change any decision. If an appeal is accepted, the comment is restored, the strike no longer counts, and its effects (a posting ban or removal) are lifted.

Banned-term lists: List of Dirty, Naughty, Obscene, and Otherwise Bad Words by its contributors, CC BY 4.0.

Complaints

You can complain about any content or any decision, with or without an account, through the contact form. A person reads every message.

Reader signals are not evidence

Votes on comments, claims and sources are a community signal shown separately. They never change a claim's evidence label.