Food Blog Code of Ethics 2.0

by foodethics

It’s been more than two years since the Food Blog Code of Ethics made its debut on the Internet. Our little manifesto–a written record of two people standing up for a basic set of principles in food blogging–was read by thousands in just hours and millions by the end of our first month of posting it.

We were some of the first food bloggers to suggest that we hold ourselves to a code of “journalistic” ethics. Our call for responsible online publishing hit a nerve. While many praised our declaration of a code, others openly reviled us for our lengthy manifesto that encouraged applying traditional journalism’s ethical principles to the wily world of online food writing.  We were called fascists, dictators, and gutsy visionaries.

After spending much time responding to debate and comment, we decided to leave our manifesto to speak for itself. We saw our statement of fundamental principles as something that’s unchanging, and did not necessitate constant updates every couple of days.

It is important, however, to stay current. So for that reason, we believe it’s time to make a few adjustments to our manifesto.

1. We added “commenters” to our manifesto because, like bloggers and websites, people who write comments publish their opinions and should be aware that they are accountable for their actions. And based on the rapid increase of hateful and threatening comments on the internet, we think it’s important that even the anonymous individuals who sling abuse realize that they will be held accountable for their threats by organizations far more powerful than ethically minded individuals.

2. We’re gonna keep it short this time.

FOOD BLOG CODE OF ETHICS 2.0

  1. We understand that the moment we put anything up on the internet (a blog, restaurant reviews, recipes, videos, photography, and comments) we automatically become a publisher and therefore have the responsibility of a publisher.
  2. We accept the responsibilities that come with publishing. We will be accountable for our actions.
  3. We will be civil.
  4. We will be transparent. We will disclose gifts, comps, samples, and financial relationships with specific businesses if we write about them.
  5. We will not steal other people’s work. Other peoples’ content (writing, recipes, photos, video, illustrations) will not be taken or used without written or verbal consent from the creator of said material. If we use someone else’s material and change it for our own use (i.e. a recipe) we will give attribution to the original resource.
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