# Right of Reply Policy
**Effective Date:** 15 October 2025
**Last Updated:** 15 October 2025
NewscrackersNG believes in fair and balanced reporting. As part of that commitment, we provide a Right of Reply to individuals, organizations, or entities that are subjects of our news coverage. This means if we publish content that portrays you in a critical or potentially negative light, you have an opportunity to present your response or perspective.
## Who Can Invoke Right of Reply?
– Any person or representative of an organization **specifically mentioned or directly implicated** in a NewscrackersNG article has the right to respond. This includes, for example, someone accused of wrongdoing in our report, or an organization whose policy or actions we scrutinized.
– The reply must be **related to the content** we published. (General grievances not tied to a particular article are handled as feedback, not formal replies.)
## How to Submit a Reply
If you feel you were unfairly portrayed or not given a chance to comment in our story:
– **Contact us via email:** rightofreply@newscrackersng.com
– **Subject line:** “Right of Reply – [Article Title]” (or include the URL).
– **Include:** Your full name (and title/organization if applicable), the article in question (title/URL), and your response or clarification. If it’s lengthy, you may attach it as a document.
Alternatively, you can reach us through the Contact page or even call our editorial desk at +234 706 140 2861 (during business hours) to inform us that you wish to submit a reply. We will still ask for a written version for accuracy.
## Our Process upon Receiving a Reply
1. **Verification:** We will verify the identity of the sender to ensure the reply is genuinely from the affected party or their authorized representative. (We don’t want to publish false replies from impersonators.)
2. **Review:** Our editors will review the reply for:
– Relevance (it must address the specific content of our article).
– Professional language (we understand replies might be passionate, but we cannot publish libel or obscene language).
– Length and clarity (we may suggest edits for brevity or clarity, but will not change the message).
3. **Publication:** If the reply meets the above criteria, we will publish it prominently. Depending on the situation, we may:
– Update the original article with the responding statements (e.g., adding your perspective in the body or as an addendum).
– Or publish a standalone “Right of Reply” article, which will be clearly linked from the original piece for context.
– In either case, we will mark it as a reply/response. Example: “**[UPDATE – Right of Reply]:** [Name] has responded to this story, stating that…”
4. **Timing:** We aim to publish valid replies as soon as possible – typically within 24-48 hours of receiving them, often sooner if it’s straightforward.
Our goal is to give your reply similar visibility and weight as the original story. If the original was front page news, the reply will be visible and accessible alongside it.
## Important Notes
– A Right of Reply is **not an automatic retraction**. Your reply will be presented as your perspective. We will not remove our original content unless it was found to be false (in which case a correction or retraction process would apply). Instead, both versions (our report and your reply) will coexist for readers to consider.
– The reply should stick to the facts at hand or offer clarifications. It’s not an opportunity for fresh attacks or unrelated commentary. We reserve the right to refuse publishing a reply that contains defamatory allegations against a third party or violates our content standards (hate speech, etc.).
– If multiple affected parties request to reply (say we covered a dispute involving two organizations), we will endeavor to give space to all sides fairly.
– In events where an immediate correction is warranted (e.g., if your reply points out a factual error), we will correct the article per our Corrections Policy, in addition to publishing your comments.
## Examples of Right of Reply
– If we published an investigation into Company X alleging financial misappropriation, and Company X’s CEO sends us a detailed rebuttal or explanation, we will publish that rebuttal so readers can see their side.
– If an individual is mentioned in an article about a controversy and believes they were mischaracterized or not fully heard, we welcome their written response to include their full perspective.
This policy helps ensure that our reporting remains fair. It also encourages our journalists to *seek comment before publication* — which we do. In fact, we typically reach out to all major subjects of a report while writing it. But if for any reason you did not get a chance to comment beforehand, this post-publication channel is available.
**Contact for Replies:** rightofreply@newscrackersng.com (goes directly to the Editor-in-Chief’s office). For general queries about this policy, you can also contact editorial@newscrackersng.com.
We believe allowing responses not only upholds fairness but also enriches the public record with all relevant information. Thank you for engaging with NewscrackersNG.
