1 Purpose and Scope
This policy governs articles, investigations, case summaries, newsletters, social posts, videos, podcasts, comments, corrections, advertisements, affiliate content, and other material published under the StopLegalHarassment.com name. It is designed to preserve accuracy, independence, transparency, fairness, and clear separation between journalism and commercial content.
3.2 Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are made on the basis of public importance, evidentiary support, relevance, and reader value. Advertisers, donors, affiliate partners, sources, litigants, lawyers, advocacy organizations, and political actors may not purchase favorable coverage, suppress accurate coverage, approve conclusions, or receive undisclosed editorial control.
The publication may accept advertising, sponsorships, donations, subscriptions, and affiliate revenue. Financial support does not entitle a supporter to influence reporting. Material financial or personal relationships relevant to a story will be disclosed where a reasonable reader would consider them important.
3.3 Verification and Source Standards
Every factual assertion with a meaningful potential to harm a person’s reputation should be supported before publication by reliable evidence. Preferred sources include filed court documents, signed judicial orders, official docket entries, statutes, regulations, government records, on-the-record interviews, authenticated communications, and independently corroborated firsthand accounts.
A filed complaint states allegations; it does not prove them. A motion requests relief; it is not a ruling. An arrest or criminal charge is not a conviction. A bar or judicial-conduct complaint is not a disciplinary finding. A trial-level order may be stayed, reconsidered, or appealed. Reports will identify the procedural stage and use precise terms such as alleged, the complaint states, the party argued, the court found, the charge was dismissed, or the judgment is on appeal.
Court records will be checked as close to publication as reasonably possible for amendments, dismissals, sealing orders, appeals, corrections, and final dispositions. Screenshots, headlines, captions, excerpts, push alerts, and social posts must remain accurate when read without the full article.
3.4 Use of the Terms “Abusive Civil Action,” “Abuse of Process,” and “Harassment”
The publication will distinguish among statutory findings, tort claims, Rule 11 issues, anti-SLAPP proceedings, criminal charges, and ordinary criticism.
The phrase abusive civil action will be used as a Tennessee statutory label only when the statutory scope is explained or when a court has applied the statute. Broader conduct may be described as alleged litigation abuse, a challenged filing, or conduct alleged to be harassing, depending on the record.
The phrase abuse of process will not be used as a conclusion unless a court has made that finding. When describing a pending claim, the publication will state that abuse of process was alleged and explain that Tennessee doctrine requires more than an improper motive alone.
The terms harassment, stalking, fraud, extortion, corruption, perjury, criminal, and similar labels will not be asserted as fact without a sufficiently reliable legal or evidentiary basis. Where a term has both everyday and legal meanings, the article will identify which meaning is intended.
3.5 Fairness, Response, and Conflicts
Before publishing a serious, non-obvious allegation about an identifiable person or organization, the publication will ordinarily make a reasonable effort to obtain a response. The request will identify the substance of the allegation, provide a meaningful deadline appropriate to the urgency, and preserve the response accurately. A lack of response will not be portrayed as an admission.
Writers and editors must disclose relevant financial interests, personal relationships, prior representation, employment, advocacy roles, gifts, travel, litigation involvement, and other circumstances that could reasonably create an appearance of bias. A person should not report on a dispute in which that person is a party or has a personal grievance. If coverage is nevertheless necessary, the conflict must be disclosed and an independent editor or attorney should review the work.
3.6 Anonymous and Confidential Sources
Anonymous sourcing is reserved for information of genuine public interest that cannot reasonably be obtained on the record and where disclosure could create a substantial risk of retaliation, safety harm, loss of employment, or comparable injury. Editors should know the source’s identity, evaluate motive and access to information, seek corroboration, and explain anonymity to readers without exposing the source.
No writer may promise absolute confidentiality. Tennessee’s reporter’s shield statute is qualified and contains a specific defamation-related source exception. Any proposed confidentiality agreement involving high-risk reporting must be reviewed by qualified counsel before the promise is made.
3.7 Fair Reports of Official Proceedings
When relying on a complaint, hearing, order, press release, disciplinary action, or other official proceeding, the publication will report fairly and accurately, attribute assertions to the official record, link to the source when lawful, and avoid adding unsupported defamatory implications. Tennessee recognizes a fair-report privilege for fair and accurate reporting of official acts and proceedings; the privilege is not permission to distort the record.
Sealed, expunged, confidential, improperly obtained, or inadvertently disclosed material presents separate legal and ethical issues. It must not be republished merely because it was received. Counsel should review such material before use.
8. Corrections, Clarifications, and Updates
Accuracy takes priority over embarrassment or traffic. Readers and subjects may submit a correction request to editorial@stoplegalharassment.com with the article URL, disputed language, supporting evidence, and requested correction.
Material factual errors will be corrected promptly and transparently. The correction note will identify what was wrong and what changed. Minor spelling, formatting, or style edits that do not alter meaning need not receive a note. Developing stories will be labeled and updated with dates. The publication will not silently rewrite a material allegation after challenge.
A model correction note is:
Correction — [Date and time]: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated [incorrect fact]. The record shows [correct fact]. The article has been revised. We regret the error.
9. Advertising, Sponsorships, Affiliate Links, and Gifts
Commercial material must be identifiable as commercial material. Sponsored articles will carry a prominent ADVERTISEMENT, SPONSORED, or PAID CONTENT label at the beginning and will use a visual treatment distinct from independent editorial work. The sponsor’s identity and role will be disclosed. Sponsored material may not be presented as an independent investigation.
Affiliate relationships will be disclosed clearly before or near the first affiliate link. The disclosure must be hard to miss, written in plain language, and repeated where context requires. The FTC advises that material connections—including payments, commissions, gifts, free services, employment, and family or personal relationships—should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously with the endorsement itself.
Model affiliate disclosure:
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, StopLegalHarassment.com may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate relationships do not determine our editorial conclusions.
Model sponsored-content disclosure:
Sponsored content: [Sponsor] paid for this content. The sponsor [did/did not] review the article before publication and [did/did not] provide source material. The sponsorship is commercial content and should not be understood as an independent investigation.
A free product, service, ticket, travel benefit, or other item of value connected to coverage must be disclosed. Editorial staff should decline gifts that could compromise independence or create a reasonable appearance of obligation.
10. Social Media and Syndication
Social posts are publications and must meet the same standards as full articles. Short format is not a reason to omit attribution, procedural status, uncertainty, or a required commercial disclosure. Paid or sponsored social content will use plain, prominent language such as Ad or Sponsored, not vague abbreviations or disclosures hidden after a “more” link.
When a partner republishes or summarizes an article, the publication should require preservation of the headline’s accuracy, disclosure labels, correction notices, and a link to the current version.
11. Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Media
Artificial intelligence may assist with transcription, document organization, topic generation, summarization, translation, or draft preparation, but a human editor remains responsible for every publication. AI output must not be treated as a source and must be checked against primary materials. The publication will not fabricate quotations, sources, evidence, court documents, photographs, audio, video, or events.
A substantially AI-generated or materially AI-altered image, audio clip, video, or quotation-like reconstruction will be labeled clearly. Illustrations must not be presented as documentary evidence. Sensitive source documents and unpublished reporting should not be placed into third-party AI systems without appropriate privacy, security, and contractual review.
12. Courtroom Coverage and Recording
No person acting for StopLegalHarassment.com may assume that possession of press identification or publication on the site authorizes recording. For Tennessee state proceedings, requests for camera, audio, or broadcast coverage must comply with Supreme Court Rule 30 and any local order. The request ordinarily must be in writing and received by the presiding judge at least two business days before the proceeding unless the deadline is waived.
Reporters must obey the judge’s instructions, preserve courtroom decorum, avoid prohibited coverage, and stop immediately if coverage is limited, suspended, or terminated. The publication will not record minors, jurors, jury selection, closed proceedings, or protected conferences contrary to Rule 30 or a judicial order.
13. Privacy, Minors, and Sensitive Information
Lawful access to information does not automatically make publication ethical or necessary. Articles should minimize home addresses, personal telephone numbers, financial account data, government identification numbers, medical information, intimate images, information identifying minors, and other details that create foreseeable harm without advancing the public interest.
Names of minors and alleged victims of sexual offenses should ordinarily be withheld unless publication is lawful, necessary to the public interest, and approved after senior editorial and legal review. The publication will not encourage harassment, doxxing, retaliation, witness contact, interference with counsel, or violation of protective orders.
14. Copyright and Document Use
The publication will use original writing, properly licensed media, public-domain materials, or limited excerpts supported by a reasonable copyright analysis. A document’s availability in a court file does not necessarily place every element within it in the public domain. Photographs, exhibits, videos, and third-party articles require separate review before republication.
15. Comments and Reader Submissions
Comments and tips may be moderated for threats, doxxing, targeted harassment, impersonation, spam, illegal content, unsupported accusations, confidential information, and material that could endanger a fair proceeding. Moderation does not constitute endorsement of any remaining comment.
A submission does not create an attorney-client relationship, journalist-source agreement, fiduciary duty, or promise of confidentiality. Readers should not send original evidence, privileged communications, confidential court records, or information that would violate a legal duty without first arranging a secure, counsel-reviewed channel.
16. No Legal Advice and No Representation
All content is for general educational and journalistic purposes. It is not legal advice, does not predict an outcome, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and dockets change, deadlines may be short, and readers should consult a qualified lawyer in the appropriate jurisdiction.
The site is not a law firm, legal referral service, court, law-enforcement agency, crisis service, or substitute for emergency assistance. The site does not represent readers, investigate cases on demand, file complaints, preserve legal deadlines, or guarantee that a submission will be reviewed.
17. Complaints and Policy Changes
Editorial complaints should be sent to editorial@stoplegalharassment.com. Legal notices should be sent to legal@stoplegalharassment.com. Privacy requests should be sent to privacy@stoplegalharassment.com.
This policy may be updated to reflect changes in law, technology, or editorial practice. Material revisions will be dated and archived where practicable.
Last updated: 2026.07.16