AP News Code of Conduct

Last updated: October 2, 2025

APNEWS COMMENTS
Welcome to APNews Comments, a place for our readers to engage with one another and AP journalists in healthy, civil discourse on selected articles. Our goal is to create a moderated online community where readers with well-informed ideas can have thoughtful, even provoking, discussions, in a forum designed to be a safe space. We also hope Comments will help us promote engagement and transparency with our audiences.

All activity on APNews Comments is subject to The Associated Press’ Terms of Use and the APNews Comments Code of Conduct set forth below.

THE AP NEWS COMMENTS CODE OF CONDUCT

What is “APNews Comments”?
APNews Comments allows our community of registered users to post opinions, insights and perspectives about the issues raised in articles chosen by AP editors. It is designed to be a space to discuss ideas of the day, answer questions raised by AP journalists and bring new threads to the newsroom’s attention. You can read, post, like/dislike, and flag potentially problematic comments. We ask that you always stay on topic and that you always be civil. You can disagree and have differing points of view, but you need to avoid personal attacks and disrupting the flow of conversation. We reserve the right to remove any post or suspend or ban any individual who does not comply with this Code of Conduct.

By submitting any user content (such as a comment), you grant to us a license to your user content as laid out in Section 5 of the Terms of Use.

The Comments for any selected story typically will be open for three days from when the story is posted to APNews. We reserve the right to close the Comments section at any time. Time limits for commenting on a story ensures our moderators can offer a range of articles for conversation.

How do I join the Comments Community?
Anyone can read Comments, but to actively participate in the Comments community by posting or responding to comments, you must sign into your APNews account. If you do not have an account, you can register here. Note that you need a verified email address for registration.

We reserve the right to take action if we learn that a user has provided false information or assumed another person’s identity. This action can range from removing posts to suspending or even deleting the user’s account.

Usernames
To help ensure that Comments is a safe area, we do not permit anonymous posts. When you register for an APNews account—which will provide you with access to the Comments Community — you must choose a username, and that username will appear with any posts you make in Comments.

Usernames must adhere to the standards laid out in this Code of Conduct (including the “What Is Objectionable Content” section below) and our Terms of Use. We recommend that usernames do not contain your name or other personally identifiable information. We reserve the right to remove, modify, or replace usernames that violate this Code of Conduct at our sole discretion and without prior notice.

If you select a username that clearly violates this Code of Conduct, it may be rejected automatically and you will need to select another one. Otherwise, you will be able to proceed with your selected username. This does not necessarily mean that your selected username complies with our Code of Conduct, but we do not conduct manual review of usernames when you register for an account. As comments go through our moderation process, however, usernames may be automatically reviewed, and usernames found to be noncompliant with our Code of Conduct will be automatically rejected (see below). If you see a username that you don’t think should be allowed, you can report it by hovering over the comment, selecting “report,” and then selecting “inappropriate username or avatar” as the reason.

If your username is flagged by a moderator or fellow community member, we may change it for you. We will notify you of this change, and you will have the opportunity to change your new username by logging into My Account and updating it there. Make sure your newly selected username complies with this Code of Conduct; repeated username violations could result in imposition of penalties (see below).

How does Comments moderation work?

We are working with the company Viafoura to provide moderated commenting to APNews. Viafoura uses both AI and human moderators to assess whether posts meet our Code of Conduct. If a post is identified by the AI tool as not complying with this Code of Conduct, a human moderator assesses whether the post should be published. The moderator also considers whether the poster should face any sanctions given the context of the offending comment. (See the Sanctions section below for more information.) Keep in mind that no moderation system is perfect, and if you see a post that you don’t think should be there, please let us know by flagging the post (see the “How do I flag” section below for more information).

In-chat moderators may be in an article when you visit it, and they can be identified by the M in a green circle next to their name.

What types of penalties might be imposed for comments that violate this Code of Conduct?
Penalties may be imposed based on the content of a post as well as the poster’s conduct. Penalties can range from post deletion to a poster’s timed account suspension to a poster’s complete ban from the APNews Comments community. Repeat violations of this Code of Conduct could result in suspension or even termination of your account. If you are subject to any of these penalties, you can challenge the penalty by contacting us here.

How do I flag a post that I think violates this Code of Conduct?
You can flag an offending post by clicking the “report” button that appears in the lower right-hand corner of a post when you hover your cursor over the post in question. Flagged posts may be removed at our discretion.

What is an offending or objectionable post?
Our Comments community is intended to encourage thoughtful discussion of the issues raised in our articles. To maintain a constructive environment, the following rules apply:

Criticism of Public Figures

  1. Readers may express disagreement with or criticism of public figures (such as elected officials, candidates, celebrities, and other individuals who have voluntarily placed themselves in the public eye). This includes commentary on their actions, policies, performance, or public statements, and it may extend to satire, parody, or opinionated language.
  2. Criticism that crosses into Prohibited Conduct (see below) is strictly prohibited.

Prohibited Conduct

  • Comments directed at private individuals (including other commenters, journalists, or people mentioned in stories who are not public figures) must remain respectful.
  • The following are strictly prohibited for comments about any person, whether public figures, private individuals, commenters, journalists, or other AP staff:
  • Personal attacks, harassment, intimidation, targeted abuse.
  • Hate speech or slurs based on based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected traits.
  • Threats of violence, promotion of violence, or encouragement of self-harm.
  • Libel, defamation, misinformation, or disinformation.
  • Obscenity, pornography, vulgar/abusive language, or incoherent content.
  • Shouting / excessive use of ALL CAPS or disruptive formatting that undermines readability.
  • Impersonation, doxxing (sharing private information), or attempts to mislead.
  • Spam, commercial promotion, or links to personal websites, blogs, or businesses.
  • Violations of applicable law, including copyright, trademark, patent, and privacy rights.
  • Content that violates our Terms of Use or that we otherwise determine should be removed, at our sole discretion.

We encourage readers to flag any posts that violate the spirit of our Comments community.

How soon does a post appear after it is submitted?
Most comments make it onto a thread almost immediately. But some comments, such as those with links or that contain potentially objectionable content, may take longer to reach the conversation. Some articles of a sensitive nature might require moderation of every submitted comment before posting, and a moderator will note this special case at the top of the thread.

How long do I have to edit my post?
Users will have five minutes after posting a comment to edit or delete it. After five minutes, you will not be able to edit the post.

To edit or delete a post, hover your cursor over the post and the prompts will appear in the right-hand corner under the three dots. Click on the one you want. Any edited posts will go through the moderation process.
Comments may remain stored on our servers even if deleted from public view.

What if I discover a mistake in an APNews article?
Please report errors by contacting us here.