Editorial Policy

Version 1.0
Effective Date: 1^st August 2026
Last Reviewed: 3^rd August 2026
Next Review Date: 1^st October 2026

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Vote Smart KE is an independent digital voter-information and civic-technology initiative committed to helping Kenyans access clear, structured, accurate, and useful information about electoral candidates and public leadership.

This Editorial Policy establishes the principles and standards that guide how Vote Smart KE:

• Selects and publishes candidate information
• Researches and reviews factual information
• Presents candidate backgrounds and public records
• Handles candidate-provided statements
• Maintains political and editorial independence
• Corrects errors and updates published information
• Responds to complaints and concerns
• Manages conflicts of interest
• Distinguishes information from endorsement, advocacy or political campaigning

The purpose of this policy is to promote accuracy, fairness, consistency, transparency, independence and public trust.

Vote Smart KE DOES NOT tell citizens whom to vote for. The platform seeks to provide information that helps citizens make their own informed decisions.

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This policy applies to all Vote Smart KE editorial content, including:

• Candidate profiles
• Candidate-directory listings
• Candidate comparison pages
• Candidate vision statements
• Candidate priorities and proposed approaches
• Constituency and county profiles
• Voter-education content
• Articles, guides and explainers
• Research summaries
• Public accountability content
• Social-media content
• Newsletters and public communications
• Images, graphics, charts and visual summaries
• Content prepared by employees, volunteers, contributors, researchers, editors or authorised representatives

This policy should be read together with the:

• Candidate Verification & Publication Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Corrections and Complaints Policy
• Conflict-of-Interest Policy
• Funding and Donor Transparency Policy

Where another policy has not yet been formally adopted, this Editorial Policy should guide relevant editorial decisions until the policy framework is completed.

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Vote Smart KE’s editorial mission is:

To provide accessible, structured and responsibly presented information that helps Kenyan voters understand candidates, compare leadership choices and participate more meaningfully in democratic life.

Vote Smart KE seeks to make public-interest information:

• Easy to find
• Easy to understand
• Easy to compare
• Relevant to voters
• Accessible across different devices
• Presented without political endorsement

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Editorial decisions must be made independently of:

• Political parties
• Candidates
• Campaign teams
• Government institutions
• Donors
• Advertisers
• Commercial partners
• Personal relationships
• Political preferences

No candidate, party, donor, partner or contributor may purchase favourable editorial treatment.

Financial support must not determine:

• Whether a candidate is included
• How prominently a candidate is displayed
• Whether a profile is verified
• How candidate information is written
• Whether criticism or factual concerns are removed
• Whether a candidate is ranked or presented favourably

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Vote Smart KE does not endorse, campaign for or recommend political candidates or parties.

Editorial content should not:

• Tell voters whom to support
• Use partisan slogans
• Promote campaign messaging as fact
• Present one candidate as the preferred choice
• Use language intended to persuade voters to support or oppose a candidate

The publication of a candidate profile does not constitute endorsement.

The inclusion of a candidate in the directory or comparison tool does not mean that Vote Smart KE supports, approves of or recommends that candidate.

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Vote Smart KE will make reasonable efforts to ensure that factual information is:

• Accurate
• Relevant
• Clearly presented
• Appropriately sourced or supported
• Updated when significant changes become known

Editors should avoid presenting uncertain information as confirmed fact.

Where information cannot be adequately verified, Vote Smart KE may:

• Request clarification
• Delay publication
• Omit the information
• Use an appropriate qualification
• Identify the information as candidate-provided
• State that the information is unavailable or not independently confirmed

Accuracy takes priority over speed.

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Vote Smart KE will seek to present candidates fairly and consistently.

Fairness does not require that every candidate receive identical wording or identical amounts of information. Candidate profiles may differ because:

• Candidates provide different levels of information
• Public information differs
• Candidates have different backgrounds
• Some information is unavailable
• Some claims require additional verification

However, Vote Smart KE should apply comparable editorial standards to candidates in similar circumstances.

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Vote Smart KE will seek to explain:

• How candidate information is collected
• How information is reviewed
• How candidate profiles are prepared
• How corrections can be requested
• How conflicts of interest are managed
• How funding is separated from editorial decisions

Where practical, Vote Smart KE may distinguish between:

• Candidate-submitted information
• Publicly sourced information
• Editorial summaries
• Verified information
• Information under review
• Information not provided

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Editorial decisions should prioritise information that helps voters understand:

• Who a candidate is
• Which office the candidate seeks
• The candidate’s educational and professional background
• Leadership and public-service experience
• Public record and electoral experience
• Candidate vision
• Key priorities
• Proposed approaches to public issues
• Relevant public commitments

Content should serve the public interest rather than campaign promotion.

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Vote Smart KE will seek to make information accessible to:

• Young voters
• First-time voters
• Persons with disabilities
• Citizens with different levels of digital literacy
• Users accessing the platform through mobile devices
• Communities with limited access to traditional political information

Editorial content should use:

• Clear language
• Meaningful headings
• Short and understandable paragraphs
• Accessible formatting
• Descriptive labels
• Mobile-friendly presentation

Where resources permit, Vote Smart KE may develop content in additional Kenyan languages and accessible formats.

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Vote Smart KE may publish the following categories of content.

Candidate profiles may include:

• Full name
• Profile photograph
• Electoral position
• Electoral area
• Political affiliation
• Academic qualifications
• Professional background
• Leadership and public-service experience
• Electoral experience
• Candidate vision
• Key priorities
• Proposed approaches to public issues
• Official campaign information

Candidate profiles should be structured consistently while allowing sufficient space for meaningful differences between candidates.

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Candidate-provided statements may include:

• Vision statements
• Leadership goals
• Key priorities
• Proposed approaches
• Campaign commitments
• Personal or professional summaries

These statements should be clearly treated as the candidate’s views, plans or proposals where appropriate.

Publication does not mean that Vote Smart KE:

• Agrees with the statement
• Endorses the candidate
• Guarantees that the proposal is feasible
• Confirms that a commitment will be fulfilled
• Accepts the statement as independently verified fact

Vote Smart KE may edit candidate statements for clarity, grammar, length and consistency without intentionally changing their meaning.

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Vote Smart KE may prepare editorial summaries to help users understand complex information.

Editorial summaries should:

• Be factual and neutral
• Avoid campaign language
• Distinguish facts from opinion
• Avoid unsupported conclusions
• Use clear and accessible language
• Reflect relevant context

Where an editorial summary is based on multiple sources, the editor should avoid combining uncertain claims in a way that creates a misleading impression.

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The comparison tool is intended to help users compare information across consistent categories.

Comparison pages should:

• Use the same categories for both candidates where information is available
• Present candidate information side by side
• Avoid ranking candidates
• Avoid editorial labels such as “best,” “strongest” or “most qualified” unless supported by a clearly explained, neutral and transparent methodology
• Clearly indicate missing information

The comparison tool does not determine which candidate is better.

Users remain responsible for evaluating the information and making their own decisions.

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Vote Smart KE may publish voter-education materials on topics such as:

• Understanding elective offices
• Evaluating candidate information
• Comparing leadership priorities
• Understanding electoral processes
• Responsible civic participation
• Public accountability
• Citizen rights and responsibilities

Voter-education content should be factual, nonpartisan and designed to support informed participation.

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Candidate names should generally be presented using:

• The candidate’s official or commonly used public name
• A consistent spelling across the platform
• Appropriate titles only where relevant and not misleading

Vote Smart KE may avoid using honorary or campaign titles where they could create an impression of endorsement or unequal treatment.

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Political affiliation should be presented accurately and clearly.

Where affiliation is uncertain, disputed, or changing, Vote Smart KE may:

• Request clarification
• Use a qualified description
• Indicate that the information is under review
• Update the profile when reliable information becomes available

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Academic qualifications should be presented accurately and without exaggeration.

Vote Smart KE should avoid:

• Inflating qualifications
• Presenting incomplete study as a completed qualification
• Using unclear titles without context
• Publishing unsupported claims as verified facts

Where relevant information is unavailable, the profile may state:

Not provided

or

Information unavailable

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Professional and leadership experience should be described using:

• Clear role titles
• Relevant organisations or institutions where appropriate
• Reasonable timeframes where available
• Neutral language

Editors should avoid promotional phrases such as:

• “Outstanding leader”
• “Highly successful professional”
• “The best-qualified candidate”
• “Visionary leader”

unless such descriptions are clearly attributed or supported by an objective and transparent basis.

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Candidate vision should communicate the candidate’s longer-term goals and intended direction.

The section may be based on:

• The candidate’s submitted statement
• An approved editorial summary
• Publicly available candidate material

The vision should not be rewritten to make the candidate appear more persuasive than the original information supports.

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Candidate priorities should be presented clearly and consistently.

Vote Smart KE may:

• Use short priority titles
• Organise priorities into distinct issues
• Remove unnecessary repetition
• Edit wording for clarity
• Present priorities in a structured format

Where a candidate has not provided a priority, the platform may state:

Not provided

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Proposed approaches should describe how a candidate says they intend to address an issue.

The platform should avoid presenting proposals as guaranteed outcomes.

Preferred wording may include:

• “The candidate proposes…”
• “The candidate states that they would…”
• “The candidate’s approach includes…”
• “According to the candidate…”

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Vote Smart KE may use:

• Candidate submissions
• Official candidate communication
• Official campaign websites
• Official political-party information
• Public institutional records
• Reputable media reports
• Academic or professional institutions
• Public reports and documents
• Other relevant and reasonably reliable sources

Editors should consider:

• The source’s authority
• The source’s relevance
• The date of the information
• Whether the source has a clear factual basis
• Whether the information can be corroborated

A source should not be treated as reliable solely because it is widely shared on social media.

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Candidate submissions are valuable sources of information but should not automatically be treated as independently verified.

Candidate-provided information may be:

• Published as the candidate’s own statement
• Reviewed against available sources
• Clarified where necessary
• Edited for readability and consistency

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Vote Smart KE should avoid relying on anonymous sources for candidate-profile information unless:

• The information is strongly in the public interest
• The source has credible direct knowledge
• The information can be independently corroborated
• Publication is necessary and proportionate

Anonymous allegations should not be published as established fact.

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Vote Smart KE content should be:

• Clear
• Respectful
• Neutral
• Professional
• Accessible
• Concise where possible

Editors should avoid:

• Insults
• Mockery
• Personal attacks
• Partisan language
• Emotional manipulation
• Sensationalism
• Unnecessary speculation
• Unsupported praise or criticism

The platform should focus on information relevant to public leadership and voter decision-making.

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Vote Smart KE editors, contributors, and representatives should not use official platform channels to:

• Campaign for a candidate
• Encourage voters to support a candidate
• Attack political opponents
• Share partisan endorsements as official platform content
• Use Vote Smart KE branding for personal political advocacy

Personal political activity should not influence editorial decisions.

Where a person involved in Vote Smart KE has a relevant political, professional, financial or personal relationship, the relationship should be disclosed internally and managed appropriately.

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Funding must not control editorial decisions.

Vote Smart KE will not:

• Sell favourable candidate profiles
• Accept payment in exchange for publication
• Allow donors to remove factual information
• Allow funders to determine candidate rankings
• Provide undisclosed preferential treatment

Sponsored or paid content, if introduced in the future, should be:

• Clearly labelled
• Visually distinguishable from editorial content
• Subject to applicable platform standards
• Separated from candidate verification and editorial decisions

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Vote Smart KE is committed to correcting verified factual errors.

Correction requests should include:

• The relevant page or profile
• The information believed to be inaccurate
• The proposed correction
• Supporting information where available
• Contact details

Vote Smart KE may:

• Correct the information
• Add clarification or context
• Request additional evidence
• Decline the request where the published information remains accurate
• Temporarily remove information while reviewing a significant concern

Corrections should be made without unnecessary delay where an error is confirmed.

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Complaints may relate to:

• Factual accuracy
• Fairness
• Misrepresentation
• Missing context
• Editorial tone
• Political bias
• Privacy concerns
• Conflict of interest

Complaints should be submitted through:

Email: contact@votesmartke.org
Website: Vote Smart KE
Subject: Editorial Complaint or Candidate Profile Review

Vote Smart KE may request further information before making a decision.

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Where information is disputed, Vote Smart KE may:

• Review available evidence
• Request clarification from relevant parties
• Add relevant context
• Present differing positions fairly
• Delay publication
• Remove or temporarily unpublish information
• Decline to publish an unsupported claim

A dispute does not automatically mean that information is inaccurate.

Vote Smart KE will seek to avoid presenting unresolved allegations as fact.

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Editors and contributors should disclose relevant conflicts, including:

• Political-party membership or involvement
• Candidate campaign involvement
• Family or close personal relationships with candidates
• Financial relationships
• Employment or consulting relationships
• Organisational affiliations that may affect impartiality

A person with a significant conflict may be excluded from:

• Researching the relevant candidate
• Editing the candidate profile
• Making publication decisions
• Handling complaints about the candidate

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Where practical, Vote Smart KE may use the following workflow:

Information Collection → Initial Review → Verification → Editorial Draft → Quality Review → Publication → Monitoring and Updates

Before publication, the editor should check:

✓ Candidate identity is clear
✓ Electoral position is correct
✓ Electoral area is correct
✓ Information is relevant
✓ Candidate statements are clearly identified where necessary
✓ Facts are appropriately supported
✓ Language is neutral
✓ Promotional wording has been removed or attributed
✓ Important missing information is identified
✓ Links are functional
✓ The profile displays correctly on desktop and mobile

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Vote Smart KE may use artificial-intelligence tools to assist with:

• Grammar and language improvement
• Content organisation
• Summarisation
• Formatting
• Draft preparation
• Identifying possible inconsistencies

Artificial intelligence should not be treated as an authoritative source of candidate facts.

AI-generated content must be reviewed by a responsible human before publication.

Vote Smart KE should not publish AI-generated claims about candidates without appropriate review and evidence.

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If Vote Smart KE introduces comments, public feedback, or other user-generated features, the platform may moderate content that is:

• Defamatory
• Threatening
• Abusive
• Discriminatory
• Misleading
• Unlawful
• Intended to manipulate public opinion
• Unrelated to the relevant public-interest discussion

Moderation decisions should not be based solely on political disagreement.

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Vote Smart KE is committed to editorial independence.

The platform does not sell:

• Candidate endorsements
• Favourable coverage
• Political rankings
• Preferential profile treatment
• Editorial influence

Candidates, donors, partners and other stakeholders may provide information or support, but they may not control editorial conclusions or factual presentation.

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Vote Smart KE seeks to provide useful and responsibly presented information but cannot guarantee that:

• Every profile is complete
• Every candidate claim can be independently verified
• All information remains current
• Candidate proposals are feasible
• Candidates will fulfil their commitments

Users should consider multiple sources, evaluate information critically and make their own decisions.

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This policy will be reviewed periodically and may be updated to reflect:

• Platform growth
• New editorial features
• User feedback
• Improved verification practices
• Changes in applicable law or regulation
• New partnerships or operational needs

Updates will be reflected through the policy version and review date.

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This is an operational editorial policy draft for Vote Smart KE.

It is intended to guide responsible editorial practice and is not legal advice. The policy should be reviewed by a qualified legal or governance professional when resources become available.

Approval

Approved by:
Name: Kennedy Isiaho
Role: Founder, Vote Smart KE
Date:  1^st August 2026

Vote Smart KE — Know Your Leaders. Make an Informed Choice.