Sponsored Content Policy

Sponsored content is an article placed on FreePress Directory for payment by or on behalf of a sponsor—a business, organization, or its agency. It is one of three labeled content types on this site: news articles, which are original reporting by our editors; press releases, which are announcements distributed for issuing organizations; and sponsored content, which consists of paid placements governed by this policy. Each type is labeled so readers never have to guess what they are reading or who is behind it.

Every sponsored placement carries the SPONSORED label in the same position where our other content shows its category—on the article page and on every card, listing, and feed where it appears. Each piece also carries an attribution line identifying the sponsor: “Sponsored by [Name]” or “Provided by [Name].” Labels are part of the content; they are not removable, minimizable, or negotiable at any price.

Sponsored content does not carry a newsroom byline—our editors’ names appear only on reporting they wrote. It is excluded from our news feeds’ editorial curation, from Editor’s Choice, and from any presentation implying newsroom endorsement. A press release announces; a news article reports; a sponsored piece promotes with disclosure. We keep those lines visible by design.

Sponsorship buys placement, not exemption. Every sponsored piece is reviewed by an editor before publication for accuracy of factual claims, clear labeling, and compliance with our Editorial Guidelines. Claims must be substantiable and attributable to the sponsor. Content in legal, health, and financial topics receives additional scrutiny: we do not publish guarantees of outcomes, unverifiable medical or financial claims, or content presenting promotional advice as professional counsel.

We decline sponsored content that is misleading in substance or presentation, that imitates our news reporting to evade the label, that promotes illegal products or services, or whose claims a sponsor cannot support. We decline placements from sponsors who request unlabeled coverage—that request itself is disqualifying. Acceptance of one placement does not obligate us to accept another.

Links within sponsored content are marked with the sponsored link attribute in the page code, consistent with search-engine guidelines for paid placements. We do not sell links presented as editorial citations.

Payment for sponsored placement buys exactly what this policy describes and nothing else. It does not buy favorable treatment in our news reporting, influence over what we cover, softer review, or the removal of any label or disclosure. Our revenue model is described in Ownership & Funding.

Sponsored content is subject to our Corrections Policy. If a published placement contains an error of fact, we correct it and note the correction. Sponsors may request updates to their own placements; material changes are timestamped. We may withdraw a placement that is found, after publication, to violate this policy.

Sponsored content inquiries go to publish@freepressdirectory.com. Questions about this policy or a specific placement go to editor@freepressdirectory.com.