Moderation policy

What we publish

Reports that meet all of the following:

• Submitter has confirmed by magic-link click within 48 hours
• Photos contain no identifiable members of the public without consent and no minors
• Notes describe what was observed, not what was concluded about a named third party
• Location is plausible and consistent with photo content

Reports meeting these criteria are typically approved within 5 working days of confirmation.

What we remove

A report will be rejected (status set to rejected, photos deleted) if it contains any of:

• Defamatory or unverifiable accusations against named third parties
• Identifiable individuals without consent (faces, number plates, name badges)
• Children
• Private-property close-ups not reasonably visible from public access
• Medical, sexual, or otherwise sensitive content
• Off-topic content (not water-quality related)
• Spam or coordinated abuse

Annotate rather than remove

Some reports are factually accurate but contain marginal detail. We may crop or blur a photo, edit notes to remove unverifiable speculation while keeping the observed facts, or add an editorial note clarifying scope.

After publication

A published report can still be removed or edited if new evidence shows it was inaccurate, a right-of-reply request is upheld, or the data subject exercises UK GDPR Art. 17 rights. Anonymisation is the default response to a withdrawal request once a report has become part of the public record.

Right of reply

If you represent an organisation referenced in a report — water company, MP, regulator, public body — and believe a fact is wrong, email [email protected] with the page URL, the disputed fact, and your supporting evidence. We acknowledge within 5 working days and respond within 15.

We do not remove material solely because it is unwelcome. We remove material that is inaccurate, defamatory under English law, or in breach of this policy.

Appeals

Submitters whose reports are rejected may reply to the rejection email with new evidence. The reply goes to the same admin queue and a different reviewer takes the second look where possible.

Audit and transparency

• Every approve/reject action records the authenticated reviewer username, timestamp, and rejection reason
• Every GDPR erasure or anonymisation action is logged
• Aggregate moderation statistics are published on /about. The counts are live aggregates, not a periodic snapshot