Collective Rules

Mar 11

(Beta Version)

Reading a rule book is boring so we added some links to a personal playlist made by our co-founders with some beats that just might make getting through it a little bit sweeter.

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Spotlight's energy is complex and sublime - like if you imagine a social network experience as eating a roasted shishito pepper: there’s a hint of sweetness and a touch of smoke. Nothing in the whole wide world is more important than boosting rad words, ideas, and actions. That's our mission - our bright light to support progress, justice, and equity. To reach this pinnacle, we acknowledge that it takes cultural awareness, recognition of honest history, and policy changes. Change is not for the faint of heart. It takes a spaceman to lasso the past, study the current, act with foresight, and emblazon the future.

Since you are here and reading this, that spaceman is clearly you. But you can't connect the stars alone. The only way forward is with the highwayman around you - some of whom may dream in color when you see black and white. So, if this path forward is the adventure you were born to do and if where we go one, we go all, let's regulate this starlit quest with some rules and guidelines so that we aren't blowin' in the wind.

Spotlight Collective: The Pledge

When you register to join Spotlight and its services, you become a Member ("Spotlighter") of our Spotlight Collective. As members, you agree to abide by our Spotlight Collective Rules (ie. our Code of Conduct) and Terms & Conditions. If you wish to terminate your access to the Services, it is easy to do. Close your account and stop accessing or using our Services.

As a Collective, we commit to collaboration, curiosity, creativity, and care. Whether it's in celebration or crisis, members are here to support, sustain, strengthen, and shine onto each other. No one person, company, or organization is perfect. United in imperfections, we just try together.

By joining Spotlight and using any of our services, you acknowledge that the pledges made by

Spotlight and any of the statements in Spotlight’s policies are a statement of the culture we want to build and, even if they state that Spotlight will take some action, are not to be construed as (and you agree are not) a legal obligation by Spotlight to take or not take any action. Like any other terms on our website, we reserve the right to change any pledge or policy at any time, but if we do, we will place a notice on our site located at www.spotlight.xyz, send you an email, and/or notify you by some other means.

Take the Pledge!

I PLEDGE that I have read the Legal Stuff: Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Boneyard Marketplace Policy, and these Spotlight Collective Rules.
I PLEDGE to create and share valuable content. I will respect all life stages and be considerate. I'm here for that good vibe - to learn, work, and brighten the world.
I PLEDGE to maintain an honest profile that represents my real-life persona. I agree to seek perfection of character by leading with my values and embracing my rough edges.
I PLEDGE to not be inflammatory for the sake of dividing, polarizing and being a general icky thump. I will begin and end my Spotlight time using real-world etiquette that glows with general respect towards my fellow Spotlighters.
I PLEDGE to listen. I understand that it may make me feel uncomfortable or challenge me. I will embrace this as a good thing while constantly reminding myself that the more I learn, the less I know.
I PLEDGE not to discount people. I will do due diligence and critical thinking before judging others. I will sink myself into culture. I will appreciate my fellow Spotlighters for showing progress regardless of where they are in that journey. I understand that being here means they stumbled on the high road.
I PLEDGE to respect my and others' unique process of learning. I will assume that there might be a different, verifiable version to a topic from what I was once taught or currently being taught.
I PLEDGE to create and share trusted journalism. I will support democracy, fight disinformation and check the "whos, whys, and whats" behind a story before sharing it.
I PLEDGE to respect the generational, racial, cultural, and cognitive diversity of Spotlighters and to value the treasure that each person brings.
I PLEDGE to put in the effort and endeavor towards the goals that need my attention. I will do this with grace and courtesy to myself and celebrate small victories because no person is superhuman.

As an act of good faith to the public, Spotlight pledges itself to elevate the missions and guidelines set forth by the following associations:

Spotlight’s Pillars

Our pillars shape our Code of Conduct which encompasses these rules and policies.

Spotlight is a digital publishing platform and social giving system for cultural storytelling, cause-focused project management, digital assets management, and civic engagement. Spotlight is a place for purposeful engagement for learning, working, and taking action. It is a place to create an informed citizenry capable of self-governance and political debate. We combine many features of an encyclopedia, resource aggregator, glossary, and zine. It is not a newspaper, soapbox, or experiment in mere anarchy or democracy.
Spotlight is a place for something pretty: trust. We are not an arbiter of truth. We are not a platform engaged in making ideas safe for people. We are engaged in making people safe for ideas like a free bird in its wilderness.

We expect that people on Spotlight think critically, use common sense, and seek out content that opens equitable solutions for the planet and people. Many political and social ideologies largely supported today were considered “fringe” a few generations ago. Many norms largely supported today are not equitable. When we are in our comfort zones, we are not learning anything new. If you could read (my) mind, that would be magic (or Mr Roboto). The viable option is to talk things out. When we drown out unpopular ideas, we crimp our freedom of expression. That said, we do not support the deviant actors who generate content and conspiracies to break down trust with false information and dangerous speech.

Spotlight supports media and written work created from an ethical point of view. We are an inclusive space that uplifts a multiracial community of storytellers. We encourage citizen and organizational journalism generated in an impartial, accurate, or participatory tone. We support the pursuit of happiness through literary art.

We create space to tell first-hand experiences that give weight to the individual’s voice and add to a richer curriculum of concealed, resistance, and counterstories. Ethical storytelling is sincere and often unscripted. Although Spotlight compiles human knowledge and personal experiences, it is not a vehicle to make personal opinions become part of such knowledge. We encourage multiple points of view that can provide a larger context and help expand narratives. Content should strive for verifiable accuracy.

Trust builds when content is immersive or cites reliable, authoritative sources, especially when the topic is sensitive or controversial.

You might wish to start a personal Private Idaho -esque blog or visit a forum if you want to convince people of the merits of your opinions, rant, be divisive, and spread unsubstantiated conspiracies.

We support advocacy and encourage each gladiator-for-progress to take avenues for social action and civic engagement. It is vital to maintain a vibrant and passionate society and uphold civil liberties and protect our planet.

Everyone on Spotlight should treat each other with respect and civility. Flashpoints or triggers often happen with stereotyping. Apply Spotlight etiquette, abide by speech policies, avoid personal attacks, and do not bully. Don’t be shallow, antagonistic, or a general A-Punk.

Adaptability and Patience Policy

Spotlight is a startup in a beta testing phase with a scrappy team of actual humans who operate under pressure to foster social and ecological impact.

Behind the screen, we are parents, dog (problems) owners, sneaker fans, carpoolers, and music lovers. We know that we share the common interest with you to get on your feet (our feet) to take some action. We throw out this nugget of information because we want to let you know that we are imperfect people with lofty, altruistic ambitions.

Just like your favorite pair of jeans, Spotlight might fit one day and feel constricting another day. Our rules and policies are probably not a one-size-fits-all type of thing - how could it be?

Spotlight to us is an extension of a school campus where team spirit coexists with policies and personal growth. Our intent is to be adaptable as we expand and grow so that we are present and mindful of our Spotlighters needs - we never want to forget the neighborhood. We kindly ask that everyone at our crowded table extend this courtesy as well to the people, organizations, and brands.

Thank you for your patience, eagerness, and regard for creating this fresh, niche space where culture and community can collide to empower change.

Code of Conduct Policy

Flagged Content and Public Transparency Policy

Spotlight accepts that it will need to enforce its policies on the turning away of certain Spotlighters from following the policies set forth. We will provide to the general public, via easy online access, annually a summary of information that describes:

a. Spotlight’s strategy and policies work to stop groups, state actors, and individuals engaged in hateful activities from using their services.

b. The number of hateful activities identified by the company on its services by protected categories— race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, serious disease, religious affiliation, disability, culture, belief, refugee status, caste, or life stance.. We protect age and occupation when accompanied by another protected category.

c. The number of hateful activities identified by the company on its services by type of hateful activity, whether incitement to or engagement in that activity, and whether it was violence, intimidation, harassment, threats, or defamation.

d. The number of hateful activities identified by the company on its services broken down by whether this identification was the result of user flagging or some other company action.

e. The total number of potentially hateful activities flagged by users, whether the company agreed with the flagging or not.

f. The number of potentially hateful activities flagged by users that were found by the company to have been hateful activities under its policies by protected category.

g. The type of flagger, including whether the flagger was an individual, organization, and/or trusted flagger.

h. The number of times that content was removed due to government action or request, broken down by the government entity, actor, or representative making the request, and broken down by whether a legal process was followed and, if so, which one.

i. How many people have been denied services for hateful activities-oriented violations of terms of service, disaggregated by the quality of denial—whether it was a termination of services in full, denial of services in part, or removal of a specific piece of content.

j. Type of victim targeted—group, individual, organization, among others.

k. How many users appealed denials of service and the success rates of appeals.

At the time when Spotlight has the capacity, such information shall be published in an aggregate and/or de-identified format consistent with best practices for protecting personally identifiable information of users and shall be made available in human- and machine-readable formats.

Spotlight will consider establishing a future team of experts with requisite authority and a logical song on hateful activities. They will train and support programmers and assessors working to enforce anti-hateful actions. These experts will report to the senior manager charged with overseeing hateful activities companywide and approve all training materials, programs, and assessments.

When Spotlight launches this team, it will work to incorporate the following guidelines to this policy:

a. Routinely test any technology used to identify hateful activities to ensure that such technology is not biased against individuals or groups based on their actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, serious disease, religious affiliation, disability, culture, belief, refugee status, caste, or life stance.

b. Make the training materials available to the public for review

c. Locate assessment teams enforcing the hateful activities rules within affected communities to increase understanding of cultural, social, and political history and context.

Spotlight (in the future) will work to integrate addressing dangerous and hateful activities into our corporate structure in three ways:

a. Assign a board committee with responsibility for assessing management efforts to stop hateful activities on their services.

b. Assign a senior manager with adequate resources and authority, a member of the executive team, to oversee addressing hateful activities companywide and name that person publicly.

c. Create a committee of outside advisers with expertise in identifying and tracking hateful activities, which will have responsibility for producing an annual report on the effectiveness of the steps taken by the company.

2. Organization Curation Policy

Super Rad! organizations doing the hard work to better their community have a home on Spotlight. We actively work to partner, build relationships, and meet them. These include brands, social enterprises, nonprofits, and educational institutions with courage to grow.

Application Policy

As a culture-centered resource devoted to the modern advocate, Spotlight actively curates organizations and brands to publish content, products, and campaigns. Our team of expert editors and qualified contributors work diligently to cover everything from cause-focused campaign planning to real-life changemakers, cultural impact through social narratives, historical movements, lifestyle trends, methods to take impact, and so much more. We feature only the most authentic, avant-garde, cause-related content. We continually discover brands and organizations that share our pillars and credo to publish with trust and inspire responsibly in this wonderful world, (of) beautiful people.

To become Spotlight approved, we work through a selection process that identifies the organizations where there is a light that never goes out. We guarantee that they have all been through this selection process before being sold online to ensure they are independent, cutting-edge in design, and of the highest manufacturing quality.

Organization Social Responsibility Policy

As a collective within the social and ecological impact space, we take great pride in working with social enterprise partners and organizations to inspire advocates together. Our ambition is to make heads roll with enthusiasm as stewards for a healthy future.

To accomplish this, we set forth a few tangible indicators that we ensure organizations meet.

Commitment to Social Responsibility:
a. Organizations should be staring at the sun - meaning they need to have a clear meaning and message that connects their organization to something bigger than a profit.

b. Do have clear values that guide the organization. Do share our values and align with our corporate mission, rules, and culture.

c. Do publicly support a bullhorn (cause) listed in our database.

d. Do operate in ways that enhance society and the environment instead of contributing negatively to them.

e. Do maintain a nonpartisan, bipartisan, or apolitical position. Do not organize as electoral candidates nor political action committees nor participate in fundraising for either.

2. Commitment to a Local Focus: Organizations should have a clear connection to their local community.

a. Do create products locally in small production runs, by artisans or the designer themselves, wherever possible.

b. Do give back in the community via an in-kind donation, employee volunteer/service, or other giving program.

3. Commitment to Fair and Equitable Labor: We encourage a fair and transparent supply chain.

a. Do use ethical suppliers - do not use sweatshops, trafficked, bonded, child or forced labor.

b. Do pay a fair wage to employees and persons in the supply chain.

c. Do have internal diversity and inclusion policies.

4. Commitment to be Environmentally Ethical: Organizations should have policies that support the planet.

a. Do source sustainably, including woods, hides, ingredients, and fibers.

b. Do not contribute to illegal logging or deforestation.

c. Do use animal hides that are a co-product of the meat industry. Do not kill an animal for the skin alone nor use farmed fur, exotic skins, or feathers.

d. Do not test wellness or beauty products on animals.

e. Do declare a climate emergency.

f. Do label appropriately. Do not employ greenwashing tactics.

5. Commitment to Originality and Credit Due: Organizations should create, share, and derive with integrity.

a. Do credit the original creator. Please do not attempt to market non-proprietary work and pass it off as an original.

b. Commitment to Public Good, Healthy, Safety

6. Commitment to Collaboration: Organizations should actively seek collaborations, partnerships, sponsorships, and coalitions.

a. Do make an effort to raise the platform of others.

If it's not ethical, we will not approve the organization to the Collective.

Organization Core Values Policy

Our partner code of conduct and employee code of conduct requires that participants embrace the following policies:

Embrace empathy, compassion, and tolerance as guiding values
Believe in the importance of multiculturalism and representation of diverse cultures and races in media, positions of political power, and corporations
Reject social and economic inequality
Ban hate speech and believe that words can be violent
Support Federal laws that protect consumers and the environment
Support Federal laws that protect equal rights

These values are currently considered left of center by the All Sides Bias Rating System.

Additionally, we suggest that publishing partners build tolerance and inclusivity in their content practices. In doing so, we recommend that partners support these values, which currently lean right according to the All Sides Bias Rating System:

Rejection of identity politics
Personal responsibility

Deviant Actors Policy

Hate, conspiracies, and dangerous speech are not new. This rhetoric led to the genocide of European Jews in World War II and the Storm of the US Capitol. Spotlight refuses to be part of any system that hurts people at scale. There are many ways for people to communicate without Spotlight. For that reason, as a private company, we do not infringe on the freedom of speech or expression of people because of the very existence of paperback writer(s), capitalism, paper, and pencil.

Spotlight does not permit the use of our platform by individuals, organizations, or teams who coordinate efforts to advance hateful activities or dangerous speech. These deviant actors may not use our services to recruit, promote, and fund dangerous and hateful activity. We prohibit the actions by lone wolves, the use of bots, or teams of people to create or administer coordinated campaigns that engage in hateful and dangerous activities online and offline.

At this time, we are currently ill-equipped to expand the Deviant Actors Policy internationally. Our platform is only available to US-based organizations and individuals. When we grow, we will provide a universal policy to protect human rights and groups to the best of our ability globally.

We use an association of accredited nonprofit organizations to identify deviant actors, public records available that show users and groups who were deplatformed by other platforms, and internal guidelines and research to identify deviant actors. We do review public lists from any Government. However, we do not make decisions to deny access or deplatform primarily because of anyone or group on a list created by any Government.

We also remove content that praises, defends, or expresses support for the following categories of groups. We permit non-bias, informative references to these organizations to raise awareness and build narratives that support, protect, and help the groups of people, individuals, and organizations that are often the target of these hateful and dangerous deviant actors.

The following hate groups, as identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and individuals promoting the ideologies of these categorical hate groups and their associated groups (as listed on the SPLC website), will be denied access to Spotlight or immediately deplatformed.

White Supremacy Groups
Klu Klux Klan
Neo-Nazi
White Nationalist
Racist Skinhead
Christian Identity
Anti-Muslim
Anti-LGBTQ Groups
Neo-Confederates
Anti-Immigrant
General Hate Groups (Antisemitism, Hate Music, Radical Traditionalist Catholics)

Spotlight is not a place for groups and people who wish to cause or real-world harm. These groups (non-state actors) often use terrorism or the threat of violence to achieve political goals and create a broad psychological impact. A small set of violent extremists typically orchestrates terrorism. In our best effort to prevent and disrupt harm, we do not permit organizations or people associated with these groups to access Spotlight:

Extremists
Terrorist Organizations (Religious, Ethnonationalist, Far-left, Far-right and Other)
Gangs and Other Criminal Organizations
Organizations for Conspiracies, Mal-Information, Disinformation, Misinformation, and Misleading Information including:

Because terrorism takes place in intimate networks, it can be difficult to monitor effectively. We look to guidance from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

We get that history and movements of counterculture have not always been polite. The fight forward can be complicated. Violence has often been used to raise the volume around the afflictions of silenced voices. As a medium to explain this journey of social movement and the uprising that has occurred, we support journalistic content for explanatory historical context. Veiled attempts to use historical context to proliferate modern-day violence violate our Dangerous Speech Policy.

We do not take a stance on the policy of the Second Amendment nor the Right to Bear Arms. However, we do take a POV (stance) on organizations glorifying weapons and denouncing common sense laws as a means to intimidate, incite fear, and harm others. We do not support the propaganda of armed people or groups operating under the guise that bearing arms, especially as a means of advocacy or protest, protects others, democracy, or the Second Amendment. Spotlight is not a platform for people to organize in militias, armed protests, or organized groups to intimidate the counter viewpoints of others.

Organizations and individuals who attempt to create content and form groups to either intimidate with weapons, be violent, spread the ideologies of terrorism, use dangerous speech, or spread hate will be denied access to Spotlight or immediately deplatformed. Organizers who use our platform to organize armed rallies, organize in person as a militia to “defend” a person or community, or organize in armed protest will be deplatformed.

Some organizations that are on this list include:

Paramilitary, Militia Groups, and Anti-Government Groups (and any Chapter Groups)

Oath Keepers
Three Percent(ers)
Not Fucking Around Coalition

Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA)
Boogaloo
Texas Eagle Forum
This is Texas Freedom Force
Stand Up America US
Riders United For Sovereign America
Maulitia Bikers MC
Maine Volunteer Responders
Institute on the Constitution (aka American View)
Gun Owners of America
Freedom First Society
Emergency Non-Profit Assisting Communities Together (ENACT)
Eagle Forum
Center for Self Governance
America’s Survival, Inc
American Policy Center
American Patriot Vanguard

Conspiracy Propagandists

Censorship is dangerous. Unregulated dangerous speech leads to scary outcomes. Spotlight has a role in permitting the flow of ideas and not permitting the flow of danger. We do our best to help educate people on understanding conspiracies, searching for trust, and thinking critically. The internet is full of deep fakes and outlandish manipulations along with dangerous theories. We know from history that humans are susceptible. We draw the line at permitting organized conspiracy propagandist groups to carry out plots with a sinister goal. That line can often seem subjective and unfair to a person who is not an expert in political, social, sociological, historical, and cultural fields. We draw this line by examining those contexts and examining how this modern goal may dangerously affect the public good, whether economic, political, racial, social, or profit-driven. The sinister means to achieve this end goal is to prey on the vulnerabilities, confirmation bias, or error of logic of people.

Spotlight denies participation or content that builds dangerous narratives and can hurt others. We do our best to label conspiracies that harm at the individual level.

These organizations are not permitted to use Spotlight due to their public profile and history of conspiracy building:

John Birch Society
Q-Anon
World Net Daily
NRA

We do not support content that spreads conspiracies that harm the community under the Dangerous Speech, Content, and Community Harm Policies. Spotlight believes some conspiracies, due to their manipulative and dangerous motivations, that rise into the public discourse becomes an assault on common sense and everyone's sense of reality. Debunked and dangerous conspiracies have no place on our platform. Below are a handful of toxic and modern conspiracies that hinder experts, people, and organizations from doing reality-based public good.

Anti-Vaccination and Medicinal Conspiracies which includes conspiracies that "Covid-19 was made in a lab," "Covid-19 doesn't exist at all," "people shed the vaccine," "that a vaccine contains a tracking microchip," or that it "causes autism," "essential oils cure all," "soy boys and other claims the new world order products want to turn male bodies estrogenic," "5G makes us sick"
Global Warming Hoax and Conspiracies related to the Environment including "5G "long-lasting condensation trails are "chemtrails" consisting of chemical or biological agents left in the sky by high-flying aircraft, sprayed for nefarious purposes undisclosed to the general public," "Antifa starts wildfires"
Hate Conspiracies which includes the "Elders of Zion," "Nazis are on the moon,"
Saving and Protecting Children Conspiracies including "Extraction of Adrenochrome from Children," "Former President Trump is battling a secret shadow government called the "deep state" consisting of prominent Democrats, billionaires, and other elites who engage in Satan worship and pedophilia," "Democrats and Hollywood elites operate pedophilia and child trafficking rings," "Jews habitually murder Christian children to use their blood in various rituals," "Follow the White Rabbit"
Tragedy Denial such as "The Holocaust didn't happen," "the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax, "A plane didn't hit the Pentagon or Twin Tours on 9/11," "the U.S. government had carried out the Oklahoma City, 9/11, and Sandy Hook attacks"
Racist Conspiracies such as "White Genocide"
Political and Social-Control Conspiracies such as "Reptoids," "secret organization called the "Illuminati" who is seeking to create a dominant world totalitarian government," New World Order," "Illuminati is killing celebrities and replacing them with clones," "the United States government is itself an enemy of the people"

Leaders and organizations espousing such theories do not have a place on Spotlight.

Terrorists and Eco-Terrorists

Any organization that advocates for extreme violence against people or the planet will be automatically denied from creating an account or deplatformed (note this clause is not a case for or against abortion). Note that we include climate change denial in our definition of violence against the planet. Any extremist or known member of these organizations will be denied access to Spotlight or immediately deplatformed.

Animal Liberation Front
Earth Liberation Front
Salafi-jihadist

We will continuously review their database as we approve new organizations and monitor user growth at Spotlight. A complete list is currently available on the SPLC website.

Deviant Actors Counter-Behavior Policy

Spotlight will establish and maintain various effective techniques to consistently and aggressively identify and remove the promulgators of such coordinated campaigns from its services. We will expand deradicalization tools by working with relevant organizations over time and when our resources allow. This policy expansion includes looking to guidance from organizations such as:

Life After Hate
America University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL)
Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice program

The organizations above provide resources to increase digital literacy and build resilience against radicalization.

As a guideline to help identify extremist behavior, we provide the following bullet points set forth by the FBI:

Rejecting non-violent voices in favor of violent extremist ideologues
Dehumanizing people who are not in the identity group (e.g., non-believers, followers of other religions or ideologies, including other variants of Islam)
Praising past successful or attempted attacks
Condemning behavior of family and peers based on violent extremist doctrine (e.g., denouncing lifestyle choices such as clothing, music, religious practices)
Changing vocabulary, style of speech, or behavior to reflect a hardened point of view or a new sense of purpose associated with violent extremist causes
Consuming or sharing violent extremist videos, media, and messaging, retweeting, or linking to violent extremists
Researching or discussing ways to evade law enforcement
Lying to law enforcement officers/obstructing investigations

Spotlight will notify the appropriate legal authorities if it observes these behavioral signs that may indicate mobilization towards homegrown extremism. We also monitor inactive domestic violent extremist organizations and deplatform any person or group attempting to revive the group.

Content Curation Policy

We are a platform for pragmaticism and honesty. As a fact, unbiased news and resources do not exist. We aim to maintain a nonpartisan and central position. We often share a spectral balance of viewpoints within the content. As a company, we don't take a specific position on an issue or topic. However, our core values and those of our publishing partners' values may create a left-of-center bias based on the current climate.

Our editorial and ad team boost Spots that support the social conversations happening where the streets have no name, on country roads, and in the home of our people. Many of these Spots aim to drive civic engagement, advance policy and help neighbors. When selecting content to boost and when moderating content, we use this framework as a guide for ourselves and the community at large.

Impartial and tolerant: Provide content representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups that have contributed to the American heritage and provide information on opposing sides of controversial issues so that people may think and read critically.
Trustworthy and evidence-based: Provide information to help people make intelligent judgments.
Educational and thought-provoking: Stimulate knowledge, growth, literary appreciation, aesthetic values, ethical standards, and leisure-time reading.

Content Policy

Spotlight is a place for focusing content on culture, caring, crisis, and civics. Because the topics and themes of content can be heavy, raw, and critical, we strive to maintain an uplifting tone that spreads high hopes and support rather than fear and defeat. For that reason, we set guidelines to build an aspirational framework that supports the public discourse. With a collective hallelujah for mental well-being, we can all elevate our content game using civics, a history education, and entertainment.

We assess flagged and reported content. Our review process evaluates if it violates any of our policies.

Archival and Modern News Policy

We aggregate archives from various publishers and licensees to provide learners with cultural artifacts as they existed, without censorship by our editors. The beliefs and opinions from a different era - especially crash years - may shock or disturb the modern sensibilities of users. There is immense value in providing historical context from a wide range of viewpoints on sensitive and controversial issues to understand progress and how these issues have shaped past, present, and future ideas. When we have a fuller context, we can better make comparisons and connections, enabling greater understanding and open dialogue to inspire change and cross-cultural awareness. From the warm heart of Africa to the streets of Philadelphia, the voice of heritage is beautiful. It is like our redemption song.

Spotlight aims to present complete collections through timelines and other means of storytelling mediums regardless if the topic is from a historical archive or relevant to today’s news media. We do not censor individual stories, issues, chapters, or verifiable images, even if they offend. That compromises the integrity of a collection because we belong to history.

Journalism in Publishing Policy

Spotlight provides publishing tools that allow people to use the heart and soul of storytelling to illuminate the way toward a better world. Content on Spotlight should educate, empower, and inspire others. We understand that many people and organizations are working from a place of passion. We know that many moments of change arise from a place of grief, trauma, and horror.

We support the silver and gold of various types of journalism and literary art. We provide features to publish that through Articles, Resources, Spots, Posts, Quizzes, FAQ's and other written content. When you publish on Spotlight, you should create journalism. Below are some guidelines to consider when creating original content on Spotlight. Keep in mind (over matter) that journalism helps us to develop our own opinions - not to give ours.

Do's:

Solutions-based: Content can provide equitable call-to-actions. Participatory journalism makes it interactive and gives us all a purpose. Building a constructive narrative helps stories to be inclusive, future-oriented, and actionable.
Explanatory: Dig deep and explain the context of what you are talking about. Current stories are tied to their history and culture. Attempt to be accurate.
Hopeful: Refrain from doomsday style writing. Offer hope and positivity when possible and applicable. A bleak outlook or overly optimistic narratives of resilience with a happy ending are likely to make people cynical of accurate results.
Motivating: Try to inspire others with a morale boost, especially when working with heavy content matters.
Ethical Storyteller: Incorporate honest storytelling into your content production.

Inclusion: Move beyond ornamental inclusion to substantive inclusion. Try to refrain from telling someone else's story. Personal stories and in-depth interviews can provide a more equitable approach to sharing perspectives on a topic.
Counter Stereotypes: Use myth-busting to produce better connections between content, goal, and community. Identifying stereotypes to bring them to consciousness can be a decisive step towards developing counter-stereotypes.

Mindful of the Under-reported: Do elevate stories and issues with a verifiable need but do not receive coverage for any number of reasons, including bias, resource limitations, and opportunity barriers.
Factual: Do share research and facts from reputable sources.
Trustworthy: Do show local knowledge, be clear about expertise in the matter, show references, ensure that diverse voices are included in the content, and be transparent about any funding sources.
Fun: Do use pop culture, interests, and relatable tales to advance the "good mission."

Don'ts:

Uninformed Opinions: The ambiguity of an opinion can cause problems. Commitment is better articulated in clear labels of belief and preference. Knowing the difference and providing trustworthy information is most valuable to solution building.

"Education without social action is a one-sided value because it has no true power potential. Social action without education is a weak expression of pure energy. Deeds uninformed by educated thought can take false directions. When we go into action and confront our adversaries, we must be as armed with knowledge as they. Our policies should have the strength of deep analysis beneath them to be able to challenge the clever sophistries of our opponents." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Fear-Mongering: Do not prey on others' vulnerabilities with fear tactics. Fear-mongering may also lead to violation of our Dangerous Speech Policy.
Manipulative: Do not try to coerce others into doing something they probably wouldn't want to do by using false information, fear, obligation, and guilt to further a goal.
Polarizing: Do not actively divide something, especially something that contains different people or opinions, into two completely opposing groups. See others as human beings. Do focus on our shared humanity.
Overtly Vague: Don't purposely try to confuse people or hide your agenda. Be clear about your goals. Be transparent with your due diligence to explain why you are advocating for that cause.

Sensationalism Policy

Spotlight is not a place for lost cause(s). Please refrain from salacious news reporting. We do not promote content that practices tactics like clickbait and using sensationalized headlines.

We require content producers to practice ethics in journalism which includes:

Regarding suicide:

Shares a hopeful message that suicide is preventable.
Conveys that suicidal behavior can be reduced with mental health support and treatment.
Provides helpful information, such as warning signs or risk factors of suicide.
Does not provide details about the location of the death.
Provides the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number.
Does not include details or images of the lethal means or method used.
Is not prominently placed in the cover of content.
Does not describe suicide as inexplicable or without warning.
Does not report specific details concerning notes left behind.
Uses language preferred by mental health advocates, e.g., “died by suicide” rather than “committed suicide.”
Uses a photo that focuses on the individual’s life instead of his or her death.
Uses a non-sensational headline.
Avoids single-cause explanation for suicide death.
Avoids referring to suicide as a growing problem, epidemic or skyrocketing.
Do focus on stories about interventions launched by cities, states, and countries that have lowered their suicide rates.
Provide comprehensive coverage of the trend of “deaths of despair,” focusing on suicide and alcohol rather than the opioid epidemic.

Regarding mass shootings and active shooters. We adopt the FBI’s definition for “active shooter incidents” to be “one or more individuals actively engaged in or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”

We suggest not to give notoriety to mass shooters
Do focus on the organization’s that work to end gun violence and who support mental wellness.
Do focus on all gun violence during the wake of an incident. Gun violence is a daily reality that often goes unpublished in the media.
Research possible solutions to gun violence that don’t focus directly on gun control such as focused deterrence policing (in which efforts are targeted on specific issues within a community), higher alcohol taxes and programs that eliminate blighted housing or to raise the age at which students can drop out of school.

Regarding White Supremacy:

To counter white supremacy, we suggest these guidelines to create content.

Research where the funding is coming from when writing a journalistic story about right-wing extremism and white supremacy.
Don’t portray race-based extremism as new to society or the conversation. Our Anti-Racist Policy is pertinent here as well.
Do not let extremists rebrand their groups. Be sure to label the group appropriately based on historical context and academic researchers.
Consider avoiding covering white supremacist events and ideas as strategic silence.
Paraphrase extremists and white supremacists as to not disseminate potentially dangerous speech through their own coded language
Do not link to white supremacists websites. This violates our Linking Policy.
Do cover the groups and elevate the voice of the organizations that are often targeted by White Supremacists.

Regarding Incarcerated Persons:

To counter systemic racism and entrenched stereotypes, we suggest humanizing people. We offer these guidelines to create content about people who are incarcerated.

Avoid using the words “convict,” “inmate,” and “felon” and use instead humanizing words such as “incarcerated people,” “imprisoned people,” “people in prison, “people in jail,” “people jailed in X facility,” “formerly incarcerated people”
Try to humanize the words “felon,” “offender,” “sex offender,” “offense,” “parolee,” and “probationer” and instead use phrases like, “Jane Doe was convicted of a felony robbery.”

Sensitive Content Policy

Spotlight aims to facilitate cross-generational work, and we take emotional safety and comfort seriously. We know that Spotlighters often work in areas that combat the darker side of humanity. To help people, we need to shed light on issues that may be sensitive or not age-appropriate. If you are working to build awareness around sensitive themes, we ask that users display disclaimers that warn others about trigger words. We provide further suggestions on sensitive content that may trigger or elicit a strong or potentially harmful emotional response below:

Rape and Sexual Assault
Abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal, sexual)
Child abuse/pedophilia
Animal cruelty or animal death
Self-injurious behavior (self-harm, eating disorders, etc.)
Suicide
Excessive or gratuitous violence
Needles
Depiction of pornography (including child pornography)
Incest (including all elements of romantic or sexual relationships between family, tonal in theme, thought, or activity)
Kidnapping (forceful deprivation of/disregard for personal autonomy)
Death or dying
Pregnancy/Childbirth
Miscarriages/Abortion
Blood
Mental illness

While we do not provide access to a user's birthdate to others, it allows content producers to segment viewers that may not reach an internal minimum age requirement. It also helps with visibility settings and market segmentation to maximize learning and actions.

Exploitation Policy

The exploitation of people or animals is unfair and therefore inequitable. These actions go against our pillars and core values. Content and accounts involved in practices that risk harm to people or animals, including sexual, physical, or financial exploitation, will be flagged and subject to penalization set forth by our Corporate and Enforcement policies. By exploitation, we mean to “take unfair advantage of them.” Examples of this include:

Sexualization or sexual exploitation of minors, like grooming, sexual remarks or inappropriate imagery. We report this behavior to relevant authorities such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Non-consensual images, meaning images of a private or sexual nature obtained or published without consent. This includes revenge porn and upskirt images.
Adult sexual services may involve sexual or physical exploitation or trafficking, like sex cams and escort services.
Human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labor.
Other illegal commercial exploitation, like trading in organs or products made from human remains or body parts.
The sale of wild animals or protected and endangered wildlife.
Corpses, animal parts or products derived from cat or dog parts, or protected and endangered wildlife, including ivory.
Irresponsible and harmful animal tourism or otherwise exploitative practices like organized animal fighting.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for the exploitation of minors.

Any content that depicts or promotes child sexual exploitation including, but not limited to:

visual depictions of a child engaging in sexually explicit or sexually suggestive acts;
illustrated, computer-generated or other forms of realistic depictions of a human child in a sexually explicit context, or engaging in sexually explicit acts;
sexualized commentaries about or directed at a known or unknown minor; and
links to third-party sites that host child sexual exploitation material.

The following behaviors are also not permitted:

sharing fantasies about or promoting engagement in child sexual exploitation;
expressing a desire to obtain materials that feature child sexual exploitation;
recruiting, advertising, or expressing an interest in a commercial sex act involving a child, or in harboring or transporting a child for sexual purposes;
sending sexually explicit media to a child;
engaging or trying to engage a child in a sexually explicit conversation;
trying to obtain sexually explicit media from a child or trying to engage a child in sexual activity through blackmail or other incentives;
identifying alleged victims of childhood sexual exploitation by name or image; and
promoting or normalizing sexual attraction to minors as a form of identity or sexual orientation.

Buying, Selling, and Trading Policy

Spotlight loves your zest to upsell, recycle, and give away the extras you may have. We support trading and donating items, but we do not allow any unauthorized selling.

Please refrain from any advertising, which includes:

Buying or selling items
Selling your services
Promoting your business
Promoting commercial events

We do not restrict linking to DePop, Etsy, or other merchant accounts as long as the products on external accounts do not violate our Linking, Content, or Speech Policies.

We do have a Creators Program, which permits organizations, people, and businesses to engage in the activities mentioned above as long as you meet specific criteria and guidelines. Check out our Creators page and fill out an application if this describes you and matches your needs.

Self-Harm Content Policy

Spotlight does not permit content that displays, rationalizes, or encourages suicide, self-injury, eating disorders, or substance abuse. We’ll limit the distribution of or remove such content, including:

Self-harm instructions
Suicidal thinking and quotes
Graphic or otherwise triggering imagery or descriptions of self-harm
Promotion of self-harm
Mocking of people who self-harm or who have attempted or died by suicide
Images of accessories used to self-harm
Negative self-talk and insensitive humor about self-harming behavior
Suicide pacts, challenges, and hoaxes

We ask that users support users by sharing self-harm resources immediately so that a person can get help. The suicide hotline is here:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

Community Harm Content Policy

Spotlight supports the community to reduce community harm and end gun violence and hate crimes. We take the stance that warning signs precede offline harm. Often, these warning signs take place online. Sandy Hook Promise and the FBI provide resources to teach others to Know Signs and to Tell Someone. We ask that our community be mindful of these nine potential warning signs in their workplace, neighborhoods, and schools that can signal an individual may be in crisis or need help and to report risky behavior:

Suddenly withdrawing from friends, family, and activities (including online or via social media)
Bullying, especially if targeted towards differences in race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation
Excessive irritability, lack of patience, or becoming angry quickly
Experiencing chronic loneliness or social isolation
Expressing persistent thoughts of harming themselves or Someone else
Making direct threats toward a place, another person, or themselves
Bragging about access to guns or weapons
Recruiting accomplices or audiences for an attack
Directly expressing a threat as a plan

We ask that users support users by immediately sharing the signs with a trusted person like a school official or parent, calling local law enforcement, or contacting the FBI.

Contact the FBI Office toll-free at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) to report suspicious activity or posts.

Adult Content Policy

Spotlight isn’t a place for pornography. We limit the distribution of or remove mature and explicit content, including:

Fetish imagery
Vivid sexual descriptions
Graphic depictions of sexual activity
Images of nudity where the poses, camera angles, or props suggest pornographic intent
Images or videos that superimpose or otherwise digitally manipulate an individual’s face onto another person’s nude body
Images or videos that are taken in an intimate setting and not intended for public distribution

We do our best to differentiate between body positivity, pornography, and other mature content. For example, you can share and bookmark content about sexual health, breastfeeding, mastectomies, art, education, and well-being with adult nudity, given the non-pornographic context. Still, we may limit its distribution or retag its rating level so people don’t run into it accidentally.

Linking Policy

We encourage the ecosystem of the web and share the wealth of knowledge contained in the ether. We ask that you do not link to websites that are unsafe, deceptive, untrustworthy, unoriginal, or that facilitate or encourage spam. Websites should have original content that adds unique value for Spotlight users. Excessive lists can dwarf the purpose of the Spotlight content.

Organizations and individuals can link when these features are available to a unique page that presents more information about themselves, including a corporate homepage, portfolio, or resume page.

We reserve the right to remove an external or internal link or provide a label or disclaimer if the link violates our policies or guidelines.

Beauty Positive Policy

Spotlight operates by asserting that all people deserve to have a positive body image, regardless of how society and popular culture view ideal shape, size, and appearance. This assertion also includes protected classes of people, including those with disabilities. Please refrain from posting content, text, and imagery that intends to hurt others for their appearance, such as:

Impairment - refers to the functional damage of a body function.
Disability - is the restriction of normal activities. Refrain from calling people abnormal or subnormal. Do name the disability.
Handicap - the resulting social disadvantage
Physical Attributes - refers to body shape and attributes. Refrain from calling people "ugly," "hideous," "nappy," or a synonym thereof
Hygiene - refers to conditions and practices that help maintain health, prevent the spread of diseases, and maintain the body's cleanliness. Refrain from calling people "filthy," "dirty," "smelly," or a synonym thereof
Physical appearance, including but not limited to: “fat,” “anorexic”

Using positive words helps everyone. Even just a lil bit of effort into your word choice can make a huge difference and help others.

Try to humanize the words and instead use phrases like, "Jane Doe has had X disability since birth." "The person with blindness...."

Try to use empowering words for others. For example, try to refrain from saying, "Jane Doe is confined to a wheelchair or wheelchair-bound." A wheelchair provides mobility, not restriction. Instead, say Jane Doe "uses a wheelchair" or is a "wheelchair user."

Intellect and Literacy of Experience Policy

Spotlight believes that all people have different thinking, judging, abstract reasoning, and conceptual understanding. When combined with access to education, lived experience, and faculty for learning and literacy, every person has barriers to self-actualization and total genius. We request that Spotlighters respect cognitive diversity and consciously move to support all learners at their current level and capacity. Please refrain from calling people names such as:

“dumb,” “stupid,” “idiots”

“illiterate,” “uneducated”

“mentally ill,” “retarded,” “crazy,” “insane”

Gender Positive Policy

Spotlight believes that all genders and non-binary people deserve equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities. Content should include gender-inclusive messaging, which gives both genders' interests, needs, and priorities equal consideration. We provide these guidelines to help support people in respecting the unique identities of everyone.

If you're not sure what pronouns someone uses, ask. Use the pronouns requested by an individual.
You don't have to understand what it means for someone to be non-binary to respect them.
Use the name a person asks you to use.
Try not to make any assumptions about people's gender.
Advocate for non-binary friendly policies.

Please refrain from posting content that expresses inferiority between genders, including but not limited to: "I believe that males are superior to females." "Women belong in the kitchen." "You can't do X because you are a woman/man." "Non-Binary people are an invented concept." "You're not Trans. You are just trying to get attention."

Do not post or share content that seems to endorse or show support for Patriarchal Violence (PV). We define PV as an interconnected system of institutions, practices, policies, beliefs, and behaviors that harm, undervalue and terrorize girls, women, femme, intersex, gender non-conforming, LGBTQ, and others.

Heritage Positive Policy

Spotlight believes that racism is everyone’s problem and that we all have a purpose of doing something about it. Spotlight supports content that opens a space where people can be actively conscious about heritage, culture, race, and racism and then take actions to end racial inequities.

We remove content that promotes racism and white supremacy.

We request that users consider unconscious bias and access anti-racist training materials from partner organizations when interacting with content about race.

We work to provide information about all types of racism, including individual, interpersonal, institutional, and structural, to do our part to help people to learn.

Campaign and Advocacy Policy

To support trust-building on Spotlight while supporting free speech, we have set the following guidelines around user integrity. The human brain's capacity to be irrational is remarkable, and misinformation can lead to physical and mental danger to our users. Please refrain from posting content or building campaigns around:

Unverified Medical Advice: We understand that personal choice and the right to choose are issues for many. However, we do not support campaigns that are vectors for misinformation and include unverified medical advice. This type of soapboxing is reckless and causes danger to others. Such misguided dissemination of unfactual pseudoscience and falsities often have information about:

Anti-Vaccination
Microchip Conspiracies tied to Medicine or Public Health Technology

We understand that medical conspiracies can be the result of complex generational, racial, and historical situations. We do urge rational and scholarly dives into discussing the why's and how's to support communities that mistrust medical treatments.

Scandal Mongering: Spotlight is not a place for smear campaigns or use as a gossip column against individuals.

We permit advocacy campaigns that present a fair account and context of an elected official or campaign, including factual and verifiable evidence of voting record, position on issues, and personal values related to civic duty.

We permit advocacy campaigns that present a fair account and context of external and internal corporate policy, including factual and verifiable evidence of campaign financing by brands, organizations, and campaign donations.

…

Furthermore, all content should abide by Spotlight's Speech, Violence and Hate, User Safety, Civic, and Intellectual Property Policies.

Speech Policy

We aren’t sadists. We want to keep us all from suffering in a Lord of the Flies like-world, so we take the position that freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right but is not absolute within our private Spotlight environment. Violent rhetoric, intimidation, hate speech, and other similar behaviors create a threatening environment. This behavior causes feelings of exclusion and intimidates others to use their voice. It not only bruises our progress towards innovation but also stifles policy collaboration. Additionally, dangerous speech has more immense consequences that often indirectly lead to catastrophic system failures, including the entrenchment of systemic racism, genocides, and the collapse of democracies.

Hold on, hold on, you might be saying. What can we do to be better off? Take this chance to let out your paper moon. We can sum it up simply by saying don’t be an American Idiot. We implore all Spotlighters to keep this a safe place to come for encouragement and productive learning and work environment. Friends don’t want friends in low places.

Race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, serious disease, religious affiliation, disability, culture, belief, refugee status, caste, or life stance are all protected categories within our umbrella of Speech Policies. We consider age a protected characteristic when referenced and another protected category. We take extra precautions to protect minors. We also protect refugees, migrants, immigrants, and asylum seekers in our Speech Policy. We support the larger public discourse around advocacy and policy for immigration issues.

To make it more transparent, we offer these policies on cyberbullying and harassment, hateful activities and speech, and dangerous speech.

Cyber Bullying, Stalking, and Harassment Policy

Spotlight does not infringe on the right of individuals to have disputes. We do not mediate content or intervene in squabbles and misunderstandings.

However, inflammatory behavior with the intent to insult, hurt, or antagonize individuals or groups of people sucks. This behavior can seem like a good idea at the time (especially when emotions run high) but may spiral into more abusive behavior which we have outlined below. Not to mention, this behavior can lead others to self-harm and violence. Expressing criticism is essential. However, insulting content does not help others to learn or feel inspired. States and organizations also differ in their response to cyberbullying, stalking, and harassment. We urge everyone on Spotlight to keep positive and helpful and refrain from cyber adult and (teenage) dirtbag behavior.

We use the term "cyberbullying" to mean activities that use electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. We use the term "cyber harassment" to mean "as not involving a credible threat." Cyber-harassment usually pertains to unconsented conduct, such as threatening or harassing email/direct messages or blog entries or websites dedicated solely to tormenting an individual. Harassment does not include constitutionally protected activity or conduct that serves a legitimate purpose, i.e., free speech. We use the term "cyberstalking" to mean using the Internet, email, or other electronic communications to stalk; it generally refers to a pattern of threatening or malicious behaviors, including communicating a credible threat of harm.

Below is a list of offensive acts.

Sending offensive, rude and insulting messages.
Calling people derogatory names using curse words in the attempt to stir a negative emotion in the other person, such as:
Cunt, Bitch (Son of a Bitch), Asshole, Motherfucker, Dick (DickHead, DickWad, DickFace, DickLips), Wanker, Fuck (Fucking Idiot, FuckFace)
Making sexual remarks, body-shaming, or sending messages about assumed sexual or romantic history or using derogatory slurs based on sexual activity such as:
Whore, Slut, Pervert
Distributing derogatory information about the individual.
Posting or sending offensive photos of the individual, whether digitally altered or not, or taken with or without consent, with the intention to humiliate and embarrass the person.
Breaking into an email, social networking, or any electronic account and using the individual's virtual identity to send, upload or distribute embarrassing materials to or about others.
Sharing the individual's personal information or any embarrassing information, or tricking the person into revealing personal or embarrassing information and transferring it to others.
Sending messages that include threats of harm or engaging in online activities cause fear of the victim's safety.
Sending messages that solicit or offer sexual acts or using the same terms as a way to stir a negative emotion in the other person, such as:
Suck my dick, Kiss my ass, Eat shit
Creating content, posting content, or sending messages that involve name-calling and different insulting language or imagery.
Mocking someone for their mental wellness and health or personality traits, including someone experiencing sadness, grief, loss, or outrage.
Messages that wish for harm to come to those depicted or otherwise refer to revenge.
Mocking of people who self-harm or who have attempted or died by suicide:
a. Do not tell people that they are inadequate, worthless, useless, or any other demeaning words used as a synonym for inferiority.
Information that can be used to contact those depicted.
Content where a bounty or financial reward is offered in exchange for non-consensual nudity media.
Creepshots or upskirts.
Claiming that there is a norm and that the other person is not part of it or is deviating from the norm:
a. Do not call people freaks, abnormal, mutant, or another synonym of odd as an expression for inferiority.

We suggest killing with kindness and using more mild language for clapbacks like:

“You are a tourist” or “All I Do Is Win” or “Ironic” or “You’re a fortunate son”

And throwing in some applauds like:

“Boomtastic” or “Too Hot to Handle” or “Legend”

Age As A Protected Category

We take this policy to the Ends of the Earth concerning minors. We define minors as anyone under the edge of seventeen. In addition to the above, we expand this policy to provide minors with additional protections.

Posting messages, imagery, or personal information about a minor with the intent to punish and without evidence or legal warrant aims to instigate a public outcry for punitive damages or retributive justice. The kids are coming.

Hateful Speech and Activities Policy

We use the term "hateful activities" to mean activities that incite or engage in violence, intimidation, harassment, threats, or defamation targeting individuals or groups. These people or groups are often segmented based on their actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, culture, belief, refugee status, caste, or "life stance."

Users may not use our services to engage in hateful speech activities or use our services to facilitate hateful activities engaged elsewhere, whether online or offline. Note that IDGAF (ie. Spotlight does not give a f*#!) for any excuse why a person explains away or tries to rationalize hateful behavior.

We further outline "hateful activities" to include these acts:

Using slurs or negative stereotypes, caricatures, and generalizations. Some examples of this include designated dehumanizing comparisons, inferences, or behavioral statements (in written or visual form) such as:
Black people and apes or ape-like creatures, Black people and farm equipment, Caricatures of Black people in the form of blackface, Jewish people and rats, Jewish people running the world or controlling major institutions such as media networks, the economy, or the government, Denying or distorting information about the Holocaust, Muslim people and pigs, Muslim person and sexual relations with goats or pigs, Mexican people and worm-like creatures, Women as household objects or referring to women as property or "objects", Transgender or non-binary people referred to as "it," Dalits, scheduled caste or 'lower caste' people as menial laborers
Supporting hate groups and people promoting hateful activities, prejudice, and conspiracy theories.
Condoning or trivializing violence because of a victim's membership in a vulnerable or protected group.
Support for white supremacy, limiting women's rights, and other discriminatory ideas.
Hate-based conspiracy theories and misinformation.
Denial of an individual's gender identity or sexual orientation, and support for conversion therapy and related programs. Denial specifically includes:
a. Services or products that aim to change people's sexual orientation or gender identity, whether explicit or implicit.
Attacks on individuals, including public figures, based on their membership in a vulnerable or protected group.
Mocking or attacking the beliefs, sacred symbols, movements, or institutions of the protected or vulnerable groups identified below.
Posting disturbing scenes from before, during, or after violent events that promote.
Posting content, threats, or that use language that glorifies violence.
Attacking others with dehumanizing speech in text, imagery, or other media. Some examples of this include comparing humans to:
Vermin or Insects, Animals that are culturally perceived as intellectually or physically inferior, Filth, bacteria, disease, and feces, Sexual predator, Subhumans
Violent and sexual criminals
Dramatized tags for a person who commits a crime
Superpredator, Thugs, Criminals
Saying All (insert protected group) are (insert dramatized tag or attack)
Statements denying existence
Attacking others with harmful stereotypes.
Attacking others with statements of inferiority.
Attacking others with expressions of contempt.
Attacking others with disgust or dismissal.
Attacking others with curse words used as slurs and direct attacks.
Attacking others with calls for exclusion or segregation.

Dangerous Speech Policy

We use the term "dangerous speech" to mean any form of expression (e.g., speech, text, or images) that can increase the risk that its audience will condone or commit violence against members of another group. Violence means direct physical (or bodily) harm inflicted on people, not other damaging behavior such as doxing, incitement to self-harm, or discrimination. The above includes speech that increases the risk that an audience will condone violence, not only commit it. Dangerous speech is often indirect and targets a group, although it can target an individual to affect a larger group of people indirectly. We extend dangerous speech policy to groups based on their actual or perceived race, true colors, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, culture, belief, refugee status, caste, or life stance.

You may not post false or misleading information that may increase the risk of violence to another group. We prohibit misinformation (false assertions) or disinformation (false assertions that are spread knowingly or intentionally and target another group). If it can be debunked by data, analytics, statistics, evidence, science, or time passages, do not post it. Try not to be a liar, liar - instead, aim to be informed.
You may not post content aiming to frighten or induce fear inside an in-group against an out-group. That includes asserting that another group is planning to attack one's own group as a means to condone or commit violence, ostensibly to fend off the attack and frame it as defensive violence. We term this as "accusation in a mirror."
You may not post content that aims to motivate others to think and act against members of the out-group.
You may not describe other groups of people as something other than human or less than human. Speakers can persuade their audiences to deny other people some of the moral consideration they give to those who are "fully" human.
You may not use the language of environmental threats such as floods and pollution to dehumanize people.
You may not assert that members of another group can cause irreparable damage to the integrity or purity of one's own group.
You may not post content that suggests that women or girls of the in-group have been or will be threatened, harassed, or defiled by members of an out-group.
You may not characterize members of the in-group as insufficiently loyal or even traitorous for being sympathetic to the out-group.
You may not prey on your audience's vulnerabilities and fears about past or present threats of violence. That includes claiming economic hardship, alienation, unresolved collective trauma, or social norms as a reason to favor obedience to authority.
Where a group has exchanged violence in the past, you may not use this historical context to use dangerous speech to incite new violence.
A person of influence in the community may not use their elevated platform to use, distort, or share dangerous speech.
Users may not use our services to engage in dangerous speech activities or use our services to facilitate dangerous speech engaged elsewhere, whether online or offline.

When analyzing dangerous speech, we use the five-part framework developed by the Dangerous Speech Project. The framework includes the message itself, the audience, the historical and social context of the message, the speaker, and the medium with which a speaker delivers a message. This is a mad world and we all have a responsibility to keep it as safe as we can for everyone.

Organization Authenticity and Safety Policy

Employer-Employee Privacy Policy

We take corporate and employee safety and privacy seriously. We remove information that reveals personal or sensitive corporate information, including:

Private employee information
Proprietary Information

Organization Authenticity Policy

Spotlight values the humans at each organization. We remove fake accounts and the accounts of the originators that created them. Additional policies include:

Don't create or operate accounts that aren't authentic, create accounts en masse, or create new accounts for the purpose of violating these guidelines.
Do not pose as a brand or nonprofit organization if it is not a legal entity. Be honest about how the group or organization is legally incorporated (or not).

Organizational Integrity Policy

We expect organizations to be honest about their intentions behind a collaboration, sponsorship, or partnership. We expect organizations to operate by their values and not to use greenwashing or other “language boosters” to build fake and inauthentic metrics for the sake of vanity, selling products, or making an audience.

User Authenticity and Safety Policy

User Privacy Policy

We take people’s safety and privacy seriously. We remove information that reveals personal or sensitive information, including:

Personal ID and passport information
Private contact information and addresses
Online login information (usernames and passwords)
Photos of private people that they don’t want posted online
Personal financial or medical history

User Authenticity Policy

Spotlight values quality over quantity, and by this, we mean that users must be real-life human beings. Our policy is no bots, no bullshit. We remove fake accounts and the accounts of the originators that created them. Additional policies include:

Don't create or operate personal accounts that aren't authentic, create accounts en masse, or create new accounts to violate these guidelines.
Do not use fake names or target an individual, group of people, or a protected category in your profile information, i.e., usernames, display names, or profile bios.

User Integrity Policy

We have done our best to remove the vanity metrics that spoil mental health and the loose layers that permit lame user-to-user contact. No one wants to hear about a Ponzi scheme or other scams. We designed Spotlight to be a good as hell place for a solo quest or for a badass team of dancing (with a) strangers united in progress.

To support people, we have future plans to offer resources about a few topics:

Chasing Vanity: Boosting Self-Esteem Offline
Fact or Fiction: Quest to Uncover Honest, Objective, and Unbiased Information
Counterspeech: How to Fight Dangerous Speech

We will notify Spotlighters when these resources are available.

To support honest user-to-user interaction, please refrain from:

Spamming others
Artificially manipulating distribution, clicks, or other metrics, including but not limited to buying or selling engagement, "stuffing" irrelevant keywords, generating fake traffic, redirecting existing Bookmarks to new destinations, using fake or compromised accounts to perform coordinated actions.
Inorganic self-promotion to gain followers on other platforms that is inauthentic to Spotlight.

Civics Integrity Policy

I (Spotlight) believe that civic engagement is about creating policies and the way towards healthy democratic practices. Through multigenerational commitments and participation in civil society associations, people can come together across different ideologies and beliefs.

We request that Spotlight users be stewards of civic responsibility - seeing it as “good 4 u” to be involved and active in “civic processes.” We are a believer that stewards hold the team together, believe appreciate communication, and expect transparency.

We define “civic processes” to be events or procedures mandated, organized, and conducted by the governing or electoral body of a country, state, region, district, or municipality to address a matter of common concern through public participation. Some examples of civic processes may include:

Political elections
Censuses
Major referendum and ballot initiatives

Important keynotes in civic processes include:

Spotlight does not permit electoral political ads.
Spotlight does not permit electoral propositions or ballot initiatives ads.
Major referendum and ballot initiatives must provide pro/con statements and verifiable information to support claims. Claims and statistics must be fact-checked, cited, and substantiated by known experts in their field.

Civics Laws Policy

We require all Spotlighters to fairly and accurately share voting information and resources. We do not permit voter suppression or false information about civics. We allow sharing campaigns and data that present laws and legislation, including referendums, bills, amendments, etc. We require that the creator explain the information reasonably and accurately. We do not permit political action committees, people, or organizations to lobby only one side, advertise, misrepresent or misguide the public. This type of content must present all side arguments and any due diligence researched and with citations.

Civics Representative Policy

We require that electoral and elected officials use their platform responsibly and ethically. All elected officials will maintain a public profile in our directory whenever that feature is launched. Elected officials may post transparently about bills, policies, reforms, civic actions, and social experiences. However, they may not lobby, advertise, misrepresent or misguide the public. Elected officials must provide all side arguments to any current or proposed legislation and cite sources. Electoral candidates may not lobby, advertise, misrepresent or misguide the public.

Electoral candidates can’t be organizations. Candidates must have an individual account.
Electoral candidates can’t use Spotlight for self-promotion to gain electoral votes.
Electoral candidates can’t use Spotlight for content that promotes identity politics.
Elected officials can’t use Spotlight for self-promotion to gain electoral votes.
Elected officials can’t use Spotlight for content that promotes identity politics.
Elected officials must maintain an updated directory page on Spotlight that lists all contact information.

We require that government accounts and relational people heavily engaged in geopolitics and diplomacy be clear about their title with tags and provide clearly identifiable contact information. That includes:

Government agencies
State-affiliated media entities
Individuals, such as editors or high-profile journalists, associated with state-affiliated media entities
Elected Officials
Institutional entities
Ambassadors
Official spokespeople
Key diplomatic leaders

Civics Misinformation Policy

You may not use Spotlight's services to manipulate or interfere in elections or other civic processes. That includes posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic function. Examples of content that misleads includes:

False or misleading content that impedes an election's integrity or an individual's or group's civic participation, including registering to vote, voting, and being counted in a census
False or misleading information about the official dates, times, locations, and procedure for a civic process, including voting or census participation
False or misleading information about requirements for participation, including identification or citizenship requirements
False or misleading claims that confuse people about the established laws, regulations, procedures, and methods of a civic process or the actions of officials or entities executing those civic processes
Content that misleads voters about how to correctly fill out and submit a ballot, including a mail-in ballot, or census form
False or misleading information about who can vote or participate in the census and what information must be provided to participate
False or misleading statements about who is collecting information or how it will be used
False or misleading information about public safety that is intended to deter people from exercising their right to vote or participate in a census
Content that encourages or instructs voters or participants to misrepresent themselves or illegally participate
Content intended to delegitimize election results based on false or misleading claims
Threats against voting locations, census or voting personnel, voters or census participants, including intimidation of vulnerable or protected group voters or participants
Misleading information about procedures to participate in a civic process
You may not create fake accounts which misrepresent their affiliation, or share content that falsely represents its affiliation, to a candidate, elected official, political party, electoral authority, or government entity.

Suppression and intimidation Policy

You may not use Spotlight’s services to suppress or intimidate people. Examples of content that stops and intimidates are:

False or misleading claims that polling places are closed, polling has ended, or other misleading information relating to votes is not being counted.
False or deceptive claims about police or law enforcement activity related to voting in an election, polling places, or collecting census information.
False or misleading claims about long lines, equipment problems, or other disruptions at voting locations during election periods.
False or misleading claims about process procedures or techniques that may dissuade people from participating.
False or misleading information or threats regarding voting locations or other key places or events.

Civics Outcomes Policy

You may not use Spotlight’s services to dispute or undermine the outcome of a fair, civic process. Examples of this may include:

Disputed claims that could undermine faith in the process itself, such as unverified information about election rigging, ballot tampering, vote tallying, or certification of election results; and
Misleading claims about the results or outcome of a civic process which calls for or could lead to interference with the implementation of the results of the process, e.g. claiming victory before election results have been certified, inciting unlawful conduct to prevent the procedural or practical implementation of election results.
Building conspiratorial campaigns that slander or attack the reputation of an elected person or candidate with the intent to spread misinformation, malformation, and false propaganda to sway the election process or electoral base. That includes unsubstantiated claims that:

People are part of a Satan-worshipping cabal.
People are sex traffickers or part of a sex-trafficking ring.
Any candidate or elected person is a messiah, whether secular or religious, and in politics, science, or economics has a prophetic authority, will rescue people from a disaster, or lead a group of people to salvation.

We understand that many fictional characters and superheroes may symbolize or project conspiratorial character qualities of real-life people. We request that any dive into pop culture and cultural storytelling be with integrity to teach or explain. Our Dangerous Speech Policy may be relevant in some cases to our whole Civics Integrity Policy.

Intellectual Property Policy

Give credit where credit is due. The best practice to build trust is to cite and cite often from reputable sources. Spotlight supports creators, and we also hope that you ask yourself, before sharing any content, who made this? For legalize:

Don't infringe anyone's intellectual property, privacy, or other rights.
Don't do anything or post any content that violates laws or regulations.
Don't use Spotlight's name, logo, or trademark in a way that confuses people.

Enforcement Policy

Anyone generating content that violates any of the policies mentioned above may be permanently banned from Spotlight and offending content immediately removed. We do not proscribe or remove content because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

Anyone generating content that violates our other policies will be subject to a review process. During the review process, Spotlight may:

Suggest better ways to articulate information, counterspeech, etc.
Remove offending content
Place disclaimers over offending content
Label content with tags or descriptions
Link to resources to build integrity and trust
Mute a user for a while
Ban a user for a while
Ban a user forever

Spotlight will do the following:

Provide a well-resourced enforcement mechanism that combines technological solutions with staff responsible for reviewing usage of services to ensure that hateful activities and dangerous speech are not present.
Allow for individuals and organizations—but not government actors—to flag hateful activities, as well as flag groups and individuals engaged in hateful and dangerous speech activities.
Create a trusted flagger program for vetted, well-established civil and human rights organizations to expedite the review of potential hateful and dangerous speech activities.
Inform flaggers of the results of Spotlight’s review of the flagged content - including what actions, if any, were taken and why the actions were or were not taken.
Help educate its users on the power of “counterspeech,” which we define as “direct responses to hateful or harmful speech.”
Actively respond to flagged messages with counterspeech, substantiated resources, fact-checking, and support.

Right of Appeal

Any user who is denied service, in whole or in part, for violation of the hateful or dangerous activities provisions of the terms of service, shall be given the reason for their service denial within a reasonable amount of time. The reason shall be provided in a format sufficient for the user to know what specific activities were the reason for the denial of service. The user may appeal through an easily identifiable and accessible online process.

We aim to create a higher-level, neutral decision-maker with relevant expertise, present evidence supporting their appeal, and be informed of the result of the appeal and its justification in a timely fashion.

At this time, we are a small startup team. We process violations and appeals in a roundtable format with our small staff. We will update Spotlighters as we mature and expand our processes to the world at large.

Appeals must be made in writing;
Parties should identify themselves both by name, address, and their interest in the material (i.e., as a user, organization, community leader, etc.);
Parties must have read/seen the content objected to;
The complaint must be specific about the reasons for the objection;
Appeals should request a specific remedy (i.e., an alternative assignment for an individual or removal/exclusion affecting the entire school community); and
Appeals, standing alone, will not be considered grounds for creators.

Site Security and Access Policy

Please do not be a criminal or attempt to ruin us.

Don’t access, use, or tamper with our systems or our technical providers’ systems.
Don’t break or circumvent our security measures or test the vulnerability of our systems or networks.
Don’t use any undocumented or unsupported method to access, search, scrape, download or change any part of Spotlight.
Don’t try to reverse engineer our software.
Don’t try to interfere with people on Pinterest or our hosts or networks, like sending a virus, overloading, spamming or mail-bombing.
Don’t collect or store personally identifiable information from Spotlight or people on Spotlight without permission.
Don’t share your password, let anyone access your account or do anything that might put your account at risk.
Don’t attempt to buy or sell access to your account, boards, or usernames, or otherwise transfer account features for compensation.

End of Rules

Are you bored yet?

Alright, wildflowers. We’ve landed somewhere over the rainbow and have hit our wonderwall. It may have taken you centuries to read this agreement. A change is gonna come - we can feel it. Es por ti.

With these hands we start.

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courtney stone

Collective Rules

End of Rules

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