Corrections & Complaints Policy

1. OUR COMMITMENT

Business First is committed to accurate, responsible and transparent business journalism.

We recognise that even with appropriate editorial checks, mistakes can occasionally occur. When they do, we believe they should be addressed fairly, promptly and proportionately.

We also recognise the right of readers, individuals, businesses, organisations, public bodies and other affected parties to raise legitimate concerns about content published by Business First.

This Corrections & Complaints Policy explains:

• how corrections are handled;
• how complaints may be submitted;
• what information complainants should provide;
• how Business First reviews complaints;
• the possible outcomes of a complaint;
• when content may be corrected, clarified, updated or removed; and
• how we distinguish genuine editorial complaints from attempts to improperly influence legitimate journalism.

2. SCOPE

This Policy applies to editorial content published or produced by Business First, including:

Commercial or sponsored content may also be reviewed under this Policy where the complaint concerns accuracy, misleading claims, attribution, disclosure or other editorial standards.

Advertising contract disputes, billing issues and commercial service complaints may instead be handled through the appropriate commercial or accounts team.

3. OUR CORRECTIONS PRINCIPLE

Business First does not believe that acknowledging an error weakens journalism. Correcting a genuine error strengthens trust.

Where a material factual error is confirmed, we will take appropriate corrective action based on:

• seriousness;
• potential harm;
• prominence;
• reach;
• subject matter;
• whether the error affects the meaning of the story; and
• whether readers need to be informed about the correction.

We aim to make corrections clearly and proportionately.

4. TYPES OF EDITORIAL CHANGES

Not every change to an article is a correction. Business First may make several types of post-publication changes:

5. MATERIAL VS NON-MATERIAL ERRORS

Business First distinguishes between errors that materially affect a story and those that do not.

A material error may:

• substantially alter the meaning of the article;
• unfairly affect a person's or company's reputation;
• misstate an important financial figure;
• incorrectly describe a regulatory obligation;
• incorrectly identify a person or organisation;
• misrepresent a quotation;
• affect an investment or business interpretation; or
• otherwise significantly mislead readers.

A minor typo that does not change the meaning ordinarily does not require a formal correction notice.

6. CORRECTION NOTICES

Where a material correction is made, Business First may include a note such as:

We aim for correction notices to be:

7. HEADLINE CORRECTIONS

If a headline is materially inaccurate or misleading, Business First may correct the headline. Where the error is significant, the correction may also be disclosed within the article.

Changing a headline to improve style, SEO or clarity does not necessarily require a correction notice where the original headline was accurate.

8. SOCIAL MEDIA CORRECTIONS

Business First may also correct or update social media posts where appropriate. Depending on the platform and seriousness of the issue, we may:

• edit the post where technically possible;
• delete and repost;
• publish a correction;
• add clarification in comments;
• link to the corrected article; or
• take another proportionate action.

Material misinformation should not knowingly remain active simply because it was published on social media rather than the website.

9. VIDEO, AUDIO AND PODCAST CORRECTIONS

Where a material error appears in video, podcast or audio content, Business First may:

• update the description;
• add a correction notice;
• edit the content where practical;
• publish a corrected version;
• insert a correction in a later episode; or
• remove the content in exceptional circumstances.

The appropriate response will depend on technical feasibility and seriousness.

10. HOW TO SUBMIT A CORRECTION REQUEST

Anyone who believes Business First has published a material factual error may contact:

We encourage requests to include:

• complainant's name and organisation (if applicable);
• contact details (email and phone number);
• URL of the relevant content and publication date, where known;
• specific statement being challenged;
• explanation of why it is inaccurate;
• correct information;
• reliable supporting evidence; and
• requested correction, if applicable.

Clear and specific requests can be reviewed more efficiently than general statements such as “Remove this article.”

11. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

Where a correction is requested, Business First may ask for evidence. Useful supporting material may include:

Business First is not required to accept an unsupported assertion simply because it is made by a person mentioned in an article.

12. COMPLAINTS

A complaint may concern more than factual accuracy. Examples include concerns about:

13. COMPLAINT FORMAT

To allow a fair review, complaints should ideally state:

1. Complainant's full name.
2. Organisation, where applicable.
3. Email and telephone number.
4. Content concerned: The article, video or other content title.
5. The URL.
6. Specific section or statement being challenged.
7. Nature of the complaint.
8. Relevant supporting evidence.
9. The remedy being requested.

Business First may request further information where necessary.

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Business First will endeavour to acknowledge substantive editorial complaints within a reasonable period.

Complex matters may require additional time because of fact-checking, source consultation, legal review, regulatory considerations, obtaining documents, contacting journalists, seeking responses from affected parties, or reviewing archived material.

A delay in resolving a complaint should not be interpreted as acceptance or rejection of the claim.

15. REVIEW PROCESS

A complaint may be reviewed using the following 6-step process:

16. POSSIBLE OUTCOMES

Depending on the findings, Business First may:

The remedy should be proportionate to the issue.

17. RIGHT OF REPLY

Where appropriate, Business First may offer a right of reply. A right of reply does not necessarily mean that the original article was inaccurate. It may be appropriate where a significant allegation was made, the affected party lacked an opportunity to respond before publication, materially new information has emerged, or readers would benefit from hearing another perspective.

Business First retains editorial discretion regarding length, format, placement, editing, and publication of any response.

18. DISAGREEMENT IS NOT NECESSARILY AN ERROR

Business First distinguishes between a factual error and disagreement with accurate reporting. A complaint will not automatically be upheld because:

• an article is unfavourable;
• a company dislikes the headline;
• a person disagrees with an expert opinion;
• the article reports an inconvenient fact;
• an organisation would prefer different wording;
• coverage affects reputation; or
• the subject wants accurate historical information removed.

19. OPINION CONTENT

Opinions are not corrected merely because another person holds a different opinion.

However, factual statements contained within opinion or thought-leadership content remain subject to appropriate accuracy standards. Business First may correct factual errors within opinion content without altering the legitimate viewpoint of the author.

20. FINANCIAL AND INVESTMENT CONTENT

Because financial and investment information may influence decisions, errors in such content receive heightened attention. Potentially material errors include:

When a material financial figure is corrected, Business First may include a visible correction notice.

21. GOVERNMENT AND REGULATORY CONTENT

If Business First incorrectly reports legislation, government policy, regulatory requirements, fees, penalties, effective dates, eligibility, exemptions, or official procedures, the article should be reviewed promptly against the authoritative source.

Corrections should accurately distinguish between proposed measures, announced measures, enacted legislation, effective rules, and regulatory guidance.

22. COMPANY AND EXECUTIVE INFORMATION

Corrections concerning company names, leadership titles, executive positions, ownership structures and other corporate information should be verified against appropriate records.

Business First is not obliged to alter historically accurate reporting simply because a person's position later changes. Where useful, an article may instead be updated to reflect the later development.

23. CORRECTION OF QUOTATIONS

Business First takes particular care with direct quotations. If a quotation was transcribed incorrectly and the error changes its meaning, it will be corrected.

A speaker may not retrospectively rewrite an accurately reported quotation simply because they would now prefer different wording. Where legitimate ambiguity exists, editorial clarification may be considered.

24. PRIVACY COMPLAINTS

Complaints concerning personal data and privacy are considered carefully against public interest, relevance, accuracy, consent, sensitivity, age, legitimate privacy expectations, harm, and applicable UAE law.

Privacy concerns may sometimes justify redaction, anonymisation, removal of an image, or modification of identifying information.

25. CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE PERSONS

Complaints involving children or vulnerable individuals receive enhanced consideration. Business First may act quickly where continued publication could create unnecessary or unlawful harm.

26. COPYRIGHT COMPLAINTS

Copyright complaints should be handled under Business First's Copyright & Content Licensing Policy. Complaints should be directed to:

A copyright complaint should identify the protected work, allegedly infringing material, rights holder, evidence of authority, URL, and requested action.

27. SPONSORED AND COMMERCIAL CONTENT COMPLAINTS

Business First accepts complaints regarding inaccurate sponsored content, unclear commercial disclosures, misleading advertising, or improper use of editorial formats.

Sponsored content remains subject to Business First's standards. Payment does not prevent us from correcting or removing content where appropriate.

28. ADVERTISING COMPLAINTS

Complaints relating to advertisements may be referred to the commercial team, but editorial or legal review is required where an advertisement is alleged to be false, misleading, unlawful, or inconsistent with UAE advertising standards.

Business First reserves the right to suspend an advertisement while reviewing a serious concern.

29. TAKEDOWN REQUESTS

Accurate articles will not normally be removed solely because they are old, inconvenient, rank highly in search engines, affect reputation, or because company ownership or management has changed.

Takedown may be considered where compelling circumstances exist:

• legal requirements or court orders;
• serious privacy issues or safety concerns;
• proven copyright infringement;
• material factual unreliability that cannot be rectified by correction;
• inappropriate identification of a minor; or
• content accidentally published in error.

30. DE-INDEXING AND ANONYMISATION

In exceptional circumstances, Business First may consider alternatives to complete removal, such as removing a name from a headline, anonymising certain details, redacting personal data, restricting search indexing, removing an image, or attaching an explanatory Editor's Note.

Such decisions are made on a case-by-case editorial assessment.

31. SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS

Business First does not directly control how quickly third-party search engines update cached or indexed versions of corrected content. After a correction or removal, old versions may temporarily remain visible in external search results.

Business First is generally not responsible for third-party search indexing or external server caches outside our control.

32. COMPLAINTS INTENDED TO SUPPRESS JOURNALISM

Business First will not knowingly allow complaint procedures to be used as a tool to improperly suppress legitimate journalism.

Complaints involving threats, pressure, advertising relationships, commercial leverage or attempts to exchange payment for removal will be escalated internally.

Commercial advertising spend does not provide a right to delete or influence accurate editorial coverage.

33. ABUSIVE OR VEXATIOUS COMPLAINTS

Business First may limit engagement with complaints that are abusive, threatening, repetitive, knowingly false, clearly malicious, spam, or designed primarily to harass editorial staff.

Legitimate criticism will not be treated as abuse merely because it is strongly worded.

34. CONFIDENTIALITY

Business First handles complaint information appropriately. However, details may be shared internally with editors, journalists, legal advisers, and management necessary to investigate the claim fairly.

We cannot guarantee confidentiality where disclosure is required by law or necessary to resolve the complaint.

35. SOURCE CONFIDENTIALITY

A complainant does not automatically have the right to know the identity of a confidential journalistic source.

Business First will respect legitimate source-protection commitments subject to applicable UAE law.

36. APPEALS

Where a complainant believes a substantive complaint has not been appropriately addressed, they may request a senior editorial review.

An appeal should explain:

• the original complaint and the response received;
• why the complainant believes the outcome was incorrect; and
• any new evidence.

Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, senior management, and/or legal counsel. The outcome represents Business First's final internal editorial position.

37. EXTERNAL RIGHTS

Nothing in this Policy prevents a person from exercising rights available under applicable UAE law or approaching a competent authority where legally entitled to do so.

Business First expects complainants to communicate concerns accurately and in good faith.

38. INTERNAL CORRECTIONS REGISTER

Business First maintains an internal corrections and complaints register tracking: date received, complainant, content concerned, issue raised, responsible editor, risk level, investigation findings, outcome, correction made, and closure date.

This helps Business First identify recurring editorial issues and maintain newsroom quality.

39. CORRECTION RISK LEVELS

For internal editorial escalation, complaints are classified into three risk tiers:

40. TARGET INTERNAL RESPONSE STANDARDS

As an internal operating target, Business First aims to:

• acknowledge ordinary substantive complaints promptly;
• review straightforward factual errors as quickly as practical;
• prioritise high-risk inaccuracies immediately;
• communicate an outcome once sufficient information is available; and
• correct confirmed material errors without unnecessary delay.

These represent editorial quality standards rather than fixed statutory deadlines.

41. LEARNING FROM CORRECTIONS

Corrections should improve the newsroom. Business First periodically reviews complaint trends across sourcing, financial figures, headlines, attribution, press-release rewriting, photography, sponsored content, and workflow.

“The objective is not only to correct yesterday's mistake. It is to reduce tomorrow's.”

42. RELATED BUSINESS FIRST POLICIES

This Policy should be read together with:

43. CONTACT US