Sourcing standards

Press council codes on accuracy and sourcing compared

Q: When was the Australian Press Council set up?

In 1976, according to the Council.

Last checked 7 November 2026 · 8 sources

Short answer

Press codes set accuracy duties that press councils apply to complaints. None of the seven codes compared here fixes a number of sources. Several go further than a general accuracy duty. South Africa's code says doubtful information must be verified if practicable, and if not, this shall be stated ⁵. Kenya's 2025 code requires all claims to be verified before publication, with a narrow exception ⁶. Ireland and Germany require rumours and unconfirmed reports to be kept apart from fact ^2,3.

Codes compared: Seven, from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Kenya ^1,2^3,4^7,5⁶
South African code in effect: 1 September 2022 ⁵
Australian Press Council founded: 1976 ⁸
Kenya code: Code of Conduct for Media Practice 2025 ⁶
Fixed number of sources: Not set in any of the seven codes read ^1,2^3,4^5,6⁷

Accuracy and verification duties

Country	Code	Accuracy or verification rule
United Kingdom	Editors' Code of Practice, in force from 1 January 2025 ¹	Take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information. Distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact ¹
Ireland	Press Council of Ireland Code of Practice, Principle 1 ²	Strive at all times for truth and accuracy ²
Germany	Pressekodex, version of 19 March 2025 ³	Check information for truth with the care the circumstances require ³
Australia	Statement of General Principles, Principle 1 ⁴	Take reasonable steps to make factual material accurate and not misleading, and distinguishable from opinion ⁴
New Zealand	Media Council Principles, Principle 1 ⁷	Be bound at all times by accuracy, fairness and balance and do not deliberately mislead by commission or omission ⁷
South Africa	Press Code, clause 1.7 ⁵	Verify the accuracy of doubtful information, if practicable. If not, this shall be stated ⁵
Kenya	Code of Conduct for Media Practice 2025, section 4 ⁶	Make all attempts to verify facts for accuracy and authenticity before publication or broadcast ⁶

Rumours, allegations and unconfirmed reports

Ireland: comment, conjecture, rumour and unconfirmed reports shall not be reported as if they are fact ².
Germany: unconfirmed reports, rumours and assumptions must be marked as such ³.
South Africa: present only what may reasonably be true as fact. Opinions, allegations, rumours or suppositions shall be presented clearly as such ⁵.
Kenya: verify statements and allegations made in public spaces before publication, and verify all claims except where they come from privileged or legally protected documents and verification is impracticable ⁶.
United Kingdom: distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact ¹.

Anonymous and confidential sources

South Africa's code is the only one of the seven that uses the word corroborate for anonymous source material ⁵.

Country	Rule on unnamed sources
South Africa	Avoid anonymous sources except where there is no other way to deal with a story, and take care to corroborate such information ⁵
Kenya	Identify sources for editorial content, and use anonymous or confidential sources only when the public interest justifies it ⁶
New Zealand	Protect confidential sources, and take reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that such sources are well informed and the information is reliable ⁷
Australia	Privacy Principle 5 says all persons who provide information are entitled to seek anonymity and confidential sources should not be revealed ⁴

Corrections

Ireland: a significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distorted report or picture shall be corrected promptly and with due prominence ².
Australia: provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading ⁴.
South Africa: publish a retraction, correction, explanation or apology promptly and with appropriate prominence on every platform where the original was published, and indicate when online content was amended ⁵.
Kenya: issue a correction promptly on discovery or notification of an inaccuracy ⁶.

AI-generated content

The Australian Press Council says some members may use AI and that the duty to take reasonable steps to comply with its principles remains regardless of how content is produced ⁴. Kenya's 2025 code requires AI-generated or technology-assisted content to be reviewed by human editors and approved before publication ⁶.

Common questions

Do press codes require two sources?

None of the seven codes compared sets a number. South Africa asks outlets to corroborate information from anonymous sources ⁵.

What if a fact cannot be verified?

South Africa's code says to verify doubtful information if practicable, and if not, to say so ⁵. Germany requires unconfirmed reports to be marked as such ³.

Which codes cover AI-generated content?

Kenya's 2025 code requires human editorial review before publication ⁶. The Australian Press Council says its principles apply regardless of how content is produced ⁴.

When was the Australian Press Council set up?

In 1976, according to the Council ⁸.

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Sources

Single-source and two-source rules
What published newsroom codes say about confirming facts with two independent sources, when one source is allowed, and how unconfirmed claims are treated.
Attribution terms explained
What common attribution phrases signal about where a fact came from, and what published newsroom codes in the US, UK and Germany say about using them.
Circular reporting explained
How one source can look like many, what newsroom guides and US intelligence reviews say about it, and the checks that published standards set out.
Sourcing and provenance glossary
Official definitions of sourcing, corroboration and provenance terms from intelligence directives, EU law, C2PA, IPTC, ICMJE, COPE and Cochrane.