DigitFMS News & Analysis
EDITORIAL
STANDARDS
The Rules Behind Every Article We Publish.
This page sets out how the Fleet Intelligence Desk sources, verifies and publishes its reporting on South African transport, fuel, logistics and compliance — and the standard readers are entitled to hold us to.
Sourcing
Where Our Reporting Comes From
Every article published by the Fleet Intelligence Desk begins with an identifiable source. We work from primary material first: government gazettes, court papers, regulator notices, official announcements and company statements. Where we build on the reporting of established news outlets, we name the outlet and link to the original. We do not publish claims we cannot trace to a source a reader could check themselves.
Fast-moving figures such as fuel prices, exchange rates and tariffs carry the date they were checked, because a number without a date is a guess.
The Rules We Publish By
Six Standards, Applied to Every Article
Named Sources
Claims are attributed to identifiable sources. Anonymous sourcing is not used on this desk.
Verification Before Publication
Developments are confirmed across multiple independent outlets or primary documents before we publish.
Full Attribution
Original reporting by other outlets is credited by name and linked, every time.
Accurate Framing
Proposals are labelled proposals. Court applications are reported without presuming verdicts. Uncertainty is stated, not smoothed over.
Commercial Disclosure
Where a story touches DigitFMS’s commercial interests, that interest is disclosed in the article itself.
Public Corrections
Errors are corrected on the article, visibly, under our Corrections Policy.
Bylines & Independence
One Byline, Editorial Judgement Held In-House
Articles are published under the byline of Lee Bester, the Fleet Intelligence Desk’s editorial identity, so that every piece is produced to a single, consistent standard rather than a rotating set of them. Editorial decisions — what we cover, how we frame it, and what we correct — are made by the desk and are not directed by advertisers, because we carry none, or by third parties.
Where an article moves from reporting into analysis or operational recommendation, the shift is visible in the writing: facts are attributed, and judgement is presented as judgement.
Accountability
Hold Us to This
These standards are the measure readers should apply to everything we publish. If an article falls short of them — an unattributed claim, an undated figure, a missing disclosure — we want to know about it.
Editorial contact: [email protected]
What We Will Not Publish
- Claims we cannot trace to a checkable source
- Sponsored content or paid placements presented as news
- Verdicts on court matters that have not been decided