Editorial Standards

Brighton Insider is a local guide built on genuine experience and honest opinion. These standards set out how we approach reviews, editorial content, and commercial partnerships. They apply to everything we publish — whether written by our team or by contributors.

1. Honesty

Every review on Brighton Insider reflects a genuine experience. We write what we think, not what a venue wants to hear. If the food was average, we say so. If the atmosphere was brilliant, we say that too.

We never change an opinion for commercial reasons. No amount of advertising, partnership, or goodwill will alter a review once it reflects our honest assessment. Promotional content is always clearly labelled — there is never any ambiguity about what is editorial and what is paid for.

2. Right of reply

Before publishing a review, we share any significant concerns with the venue. This is standard press ethics — right of reply is about accuracy, not approval.

If a venue spots a factual error — a wrong price, a dish that's no longer on the menu, a name misspelled — we correct it. What we don't do is change our opinion. A venue can tell us the steak was supposed to be cooked that way. We'll note it. We won't pretend we enjoyed it.

We correct facts. We don't change opinions.

3. Second chances

Restaurants have bad nights. New kitchens need time to settle. If an issue seems like a one-off — a new chef finding their feet, a busy service that got away from the team — we may visit again before publishing.

This is not about being soft. It's about being fair. A review based on a single unlucky visit doesn't serve readers or venues well. If the second visit confirms the first impression, that's what we publish.

4. When we choose not to publish

Brighton Insider is a community guide, not a tabloid. If a venue is genuinely struggling and a negative review would pile on without helping anyone, we may choose silence over damage.

There are exceptions. If there's a genuine public interest issue — food safety concerns, false advertising, misleading claims — we will publish regardless. The threshold is whether readers need to know. If they do, we tell them.

5. Editorial vs promotional content

We work with venues in two ways: editorial reviews and promotional features. They are completely separate.

Reviews are independent. A venue may invite us, cover the cost of food and drinks, and provide access — but the review is ours. The venue gets a preview for factual accuracy only. They cannot change the opinion, the tone, or the conclusion.

Promotional content — photography, write-ups for launches, menu features — is clearly labelled. The venue approves promotional content before publication. There is never any confusion about which is which.

We do not accept paid placements disguised as reviews. We do not offer guaranteed positive coverage. If you're looking for that, we're not the right fit.

6. Affiliate links

Some links on Brighton Insider — mostly ticket and booking links — are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a small commission. It never costs you anything extra, and it never affects what we recommend or where something appears in a guide.

We link to the same tickets and venues whether or not there's a commission attached. Recommendations come first; the affiliate link, where one exists, is added afterwards.

7. Corrections

We welcome factual corrections. If we've got a detail wrong — an opening time, a price, a name — tell us and we'll fix it promptly.

We do not alter published opinions. If a significant factual correction is made after publication, we note it at the foot of the article so readers can see what changed and when.

8. Contributors

All content — whether from our team or from contributors — is edited before publication. Contributors follow the same standards set out on this page. Their work is reviewed, fact-checked, and held to the same bar.

Interested in writing for Brighton Insider? See our contributor programme.

9. How we use AI

We use AI tools to help research and draft some articles. Every piece is reviewed, fact-checked, and published by a named editor who is accountable for it. We do not publish AI-written content unread, and we never invent contributors or bylines.

The judgment is always human: what we cover, what we recommend, and what we say about it. AI helps us do the legwork, not the thinking.

Some illustrations on the site are AI-generated — decorative and conceptual artwork, and occasionally a clearly-stylised illustration on a piece about someone we couldn't photograph ourselves. They are always obviously illustrations, never photorealistic, and never passed off as a real photo, and each one carries a machine-readable AI label embedded in the file. We never fake a photograph of a real venue, a real person, or a news event. Photos of real places and real people are real photos.

10. Questions

If you have questions about our editorial standards or want to discuss how we work with venues, get in touch.