At NorwichWire.co.uk, we believe that transparency about how we work is essential to maintaining your trust. Digital tools—including artificial intelligence and automation—play a supporting role in our newsroom, but human judgment, editorial oversight and ethical responsibility remain at the heart of everything we publish. This page explains when and how we use such tools, what we guarantee, and what we will never allow.
How We Use Digital Tools
Digital tools may assist our journalists and editors in the following ways, always under human supervision and final approval:
- Research and analysis – automated data gathering, pattern recognition and preliminary fact-checking to help identify trends, verify official records or surface relevant background material.
- Editing and formatting – grammar checking, style consistency, readability improvements and formatting for different platforms.
- Translation – machine translation of public documents or quotes from non-English sources, always reviewed by a fluent speaker before inclusion.
- Metadata and tagging – generating keywords, category labels and SEO metadata to help readers find relevant content.
- Headline and summary suggestions – automated options that an editor may consider, adapt or reject entirely.
- Transcription – converting audio interviews or public hearings into text, reviewed for accuracy and corrected as needed.
- Content review – checks for potential factual errors, defamatory language, copyright risks and compliance with our editorial standards.
The Human Guarantee
Every piece of editorial content published on NorwichWire.co.uk — whether a news article, analysis piece, feature, opinion column, newsletter or sponsored feature — is reviewed by a qualified human editor before it goes live. No automated system has the final say on what we publish. Our team of experienced journalists, editors and fact-checkers (see Our Team) exercises independent editorial judgment, ensures accuracy and upholds the values set out in our Editorial Policy.
Automation may suggest improvements, but it never overrides a human editor’s decision. We treat AI-assisted content the same way we treat any contributor’s draft: it is subject to the same rigorous editorial process, including source verification, context checking and ethical review.
Strict Prohibitions
We have clear, non-negotiable rules for the use of digital tools:
- No fabricated content – AI must never generate quotes, sources, interview transcripts, bylines, author biographies, expert profiles, false staff credentials or any other material that could mislead readers about the origin or veracity of the content.
- Verification required – any information or claim produced with AI assistance must be independently verified against reliable primary sources before publication. AI output is treated as a potential lead, not a verified fact.
- Labelling of synthetic media – where AI-generated images, audio or video are used (for example, in an illustrative graphic or augmented-reality feature), they will be clearly labelled with a notice explaining their origin. Text generated by AI that is used verbatim will be attributed accordingly.
- No manipulation of search rankings – we do not produce mass-generated, low-value content designed solely to game algorithms or search-engine results. Every article must have genuine editorial merit, serve our readers’ interests and meet the standards set out in our Fact-Checking Policy.
Disclosure example: When an article has been prepared with the support of digital editing tools, readers may see a note at the foot of the page stating: “This article was prepared with the support of digital editing tools and reviewed by a human editor before publication.” Such disclosures are used proportionately; not every story will carry one, but any that relies on automated assistance in a material way will include it.
We welcome your questions, concerns or tips about the use of automation in our journalism. Please contact our editorial team via our contact page or email our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead, Daniel Keane, at daniel.keane@norwichwire.co.uk. You can also read how we handle corrections in our Corrections Policy and learn more about our funding model in our Ownership & Funding page.