Demócrata’s Code of Ethics and Editorial Charter
Our founding principles
Demócrata is a Spanish daily newspaper specialising in parliamentary news, established to promote the reader’s right to receive accurate information and the public’s right to be informed regarding legislative initiatives by the executive and legislative branches.
Demócrata upholds the constitutional principles enshrined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978 (CE78), as well as the doctrine of the Constitutional Court (TC), particularly with regard to the public’s right to receive accurate information. In this regard, Demócrata adopts as its guiding principle the duty of factual accuracy that constitutional doctrine imposes on the media and journalists as an internal limit on their right to communicate. A duty of factual accuracy that the TC equates with the editor’s independence from any political or economic influence, and the due diligence or integrity of journalists.
As a news organisation, Demócrata is established as a private company serving the public interest, thereby assuming a public and democratic responsibility in the conduct of its editorial activities. To this end, it is committed to a rigorous model of governance and transparency that incorporates the necessary mechanisms to guarantee the independence and credibility of parliamentary reporting.
Core values
Demócrata upholds the following as its fundamental values:
Constitutional principles and values
Accuracy of information
Editorial independence
Journalistic integrity
Public responsibility in the conduct of journalistic activity
Good governance in news reporting
Transparency
All these values protect Demócrata’s greatest asset, which is the creation and publication of quality information, and, consequently, its editorial credibility.
Editorial independence
Demócrata’s editorial line is determined exclusively by its editorial management, without interference from shareholders, advertisers, institutional sources or any other party with interests unrelated to the public interest. No advertiser or sponsor has the ability to influence news coverage or the selection of topics.
The media outlet is owned by Información y Participación S.L., with its registered office at Fortuny 45, 1º D, Madrid. The management of the media outlet is public and is listed on our About Us page.
Verification of information
All content published in Demócrata has undergone a verification process prior to publication. Our standards require:
Cross-checking information against at least one primary source where possible
Correctly identifying and attributing sources
Clearly distinguishing verified facts from assessments, opinions or speculation
Not publishing information whose accuracy we are not sufficiently certain of, even if this means we are not the first to publish it
Distinction between information and opinion
Demócrata clearly distinguishes between its news articles and its opinion pieces. Opinion pieces, analyses and columns are identified as such and reflect solely the views of the author, not the editorial stance of the publication.
Corrections and retractions policy
Our commitment to accuracy includes the transparent correction of any errors.
Substantial errors: If an article contains a factual error, an incorrect figure or a misinterpretation that alters the meaning of the news item, we will correct it immediately.
Minor errors: Typographical, punctuation or grammatical errors that do not affect the understanding of the information will be corrected without the need for a clarification note, in order to maintain the flow of the text.
Updates on developing news stories: In breaking news stories that evolve over time, we will use the term “Last updated” alongside the date and time to indicate that new information has been added, without this necessarily implying the correction of a previous error.
Sponsored content and advertising
Demócrata clearly distinguishes between editorial content and commercial or sponsored content. All advertising or sponsored content is explicitly identified as such. Advertising does not influence the publication’s editorial decisions in any way.
Our labelling policy details how we identify each type of content: Labelling policy.
Conflicts of interest
Demócrata’s journalists and contributors are obliged to inform management of any personal, financial or institutional relationship that could give rise to a conflict of interest with the coverage they provide. In such cases, management will decide whether the individual should refrain from covering that topic.
Protection of sources
Demócrata respects and guarantees the protection of sources who request confidentiality, in accordance with the journalistic privilege recognised under Spanish law.
Contact for corrections and complaints
We invite our community of readers to help us maintain journalistic excellence. If you find any incorrect details or information that requires clarification, please let us know.
Contact email: info@democrata.es
Subject: Suggested correction / Errata.
We will review each notification within a maximum of 24 hours and act accordingly in line with our editorial standards.
Governance and transparency
For further information on the media outlet’s ownership structure, editorial team and contributors, please see: