Editorial standards

How stories are chosen

BriefTea covers the news that affects people in the United Kingdom: politics, money, public services, business, sport, health and the wider world. Stories are selected for consequence rather than clicks. We do not chase outrage, and we do not publish speculation as news.

How a brief is written

Every brief begins from reporting by established news organisations. Drafting is AI-assisted: software produces a first sixty-word draft from the source reporting, in plain English. That draft then passes through automated checks for style, length, originality of wording and plagiarism before it can go anywhere near the feed.

Sixty words means choices. A brief keeps the who, what, where, when and the number that matters, and drops everything else. When a story needs more than sixty words, the app and the story page link to fuller explainers in our Learn library.

Verification and sources

Claims are checked against the original reporting before publication, and briefs are drawn from established outlets rather than unverified social media posts. Every story page names the organisation whose reporting the brief is based on and links to the original article, so you can always read the full story at its source.

Human review

No brief publishes itself. Stories wait in an editorial queue and are reviewed before they are approved into the feed. The automated checks catch the mechanical problems; the review is where judgement is applied.

Use of AI, disclosed

BriefTea uses AI to draft summaries, suggest explainers and prepare images. It does not use AI to invent facts, quotes or sources, and AI never has the final word on what is published. Where an image is illustrative rather than photographic, it is presented as such.

Corrections

When we get something wrong, we fix the story page as soon as the error is verified and update the brief in the app. To report an error, email [email protected] with a link to the story. We would rather correct quickly than quietly.

Independence and funding

BriefTea is independent and self-funded. It carries no advertising, has no paywall and sells no subscriptions. No outlet, party or advertiser pays for coverage, and none is offered.

Contact the publisher

BriefTea is built and edited in the United Kingdom. For anything on this page, from corrections to questions about how a brief was made, email [email protected] or see the about page.