Our Principles

Mission

The Uplifting Times exists to improve our collective mental wellbeing by breaking the cycles of negative news. We subscribe to a stronger mindset by reallocating attention to more useful, productive, and uplifting stories. We uphold this mission by adhering to high standards and principles.

Content Principles

1. Write to Someone
Write with an individual in mind. See, hear, feel, and sense them. Who are they? Consider your content length, visuals, readability, and word choice. You are not writing into the void—you are connecting with the world, one reader at a time.

2. Deliver a Clear Message
Write with purpose and a clear takeaway message. Provide practical value. What will the reader walk away with? Is this message clear? How might this improve the reader’s life? Someone spent time and energy to experience your content. Make it worthwhile. 

3. Evoke Optimism
All writing has bias. We have a positive silver lining bias. We do not hide from reality, we cannot change what happened, but we can control our response. The world has enough negativity. Our responsibility is to uplift and inspire, especially during difficult times. 

4. Be Relevant
Connect your content to recent or noteworthy information. This can be current events, trends, or universal experiences that are global, local, or individual. Create the bridge between your readers and what's happening in the world.

5. Be Human
Let your unique voice and tone be heard. We want AI to be doing our chores, not our aspirations. Use AI as an assistant, not as a substitute for creativity. Use real images. Readers are smart. Content that smells like AI will not be published. 

6. Be Ethical
Write truthfully, accurately, and source properly. Discuss sensitive topics respectfully. Content must not plagiarize, mislead, or misinform. If you wouldn’t want your name associated with it on the front page of a newspaper, don’t write it. 

7. Be Respectful
Your message reaches a global and growing audience. Use inclusive language that is considerate of different cultures and identities. Be compassionate – promote understanding and unity, not discrimination. 

8. No Clickbait, No Spam
Use meaningful titles. Avoid clickbait and misleading content. Refrain from overly promotional material. We are part of the solution, not the problem. We are not optimizing for clicks. We are optimizing for meaningful connection.

Principles in Action:

• Submission: Writers submit content to [email protected].

• Evaluation: The editorial team scores content against each of the 8 principles. A score of 70 or greater is considered a pass. 

• Revision or Publish: To be published, content must receive a 70 or greater on all principles. If at least one principle is less than 70, the writer needs to revise and resubmit the content.

Be the Change. This is our opportunity to make life better for ourselves and others. What is the world you want to help shape? Write to be the change you want to see.