Disclaimer

Somali Update publishes journalism. This page sets out the limits of what that journalism is, and what we are not responsible for when a reader acts on it. Last updated: August 2026.

Most of what follows is standard for a news site. One part is not. People make real decisions on the strength of reporting from this region, about money, movement and safety, and we would like to be clear about what our reporting can carry.

This is reporting, not advice

Nothing here is financial, legal, medical, immigration or security advice, and none of it is written for your circumstances, which we do not know. A story about bank de-risking and the pressure on money transfer operators describes what is happening. It is not guidance on where to send your family’s money this month. Coverage of a court ruling is not legal advice, and coverage of a cholera outbreak is not medical advice.

The version that matters most on our beat is security. When we report that fighting has been reported along a road, or that a district has changed hands, we are reporting claims and observations as of a moment, with the sourcing described in the copy. That is not a safety assessment and cannot be used as one. Do not plan a journey, a return or an evacuation on a paragraph from a news site. Ask people whose job that assessment is, and ask them today.

Accuracy, and how quickly it dates

We check what we publish, and our editorial standards and fact-checking pages set out how. What we do not do is warrant that everything on the site is complete, current or fit for a purpose you have in mind. On a beat where the primary information is contested by every party to it, a publisher promising otherwise would be either lucky or lying.

Stories are accurate as at the time of publication. A casualty figure moves, a claim of responsibility falls apart, a ceasefire holds for four hours. We date our reporting, mark unconfirmed claims as claims, and when we update a piece we say what changed. Older articles stay online as a record of what was known at the time, so check the date before you rely on a number in one.

Opinion, analysis and news

We publish commentary and analysis as well as reporting, and we label which is which on the page. An opinion piece carries the views of the person who wrote it, and running it does not mean the newsroom agrees. Analysis is our own reading of the evidence rather than a neutral account of it, which is a real difference and one we mark.

Nothing in an opinion or analysis piece should be taken as verified fact unless it is sourced as one in the text. Where a contributor has an interest, an affiliation or a stake in the subject, we disclose it in the piece rather than leave you to find out.

Links, embeds and other people’s material

We link to sources, documents and other people’s reporting so a reader can check us. A link is not an endorsement, and we are not responsible for what sits at the other end or what it turns into later. Sites change, statements get deleted, official documents move without a redirect. Embedded material behaves the same way: a video or a document from a platform is served by that platform under its own terms and tracking, and our cookie policy explains what that means for you.

Quotations, photographs, footage and documents from other sources are used with attribution, under licence, or as fair dealing and fair use for reporting and comment, and rights in that material stay with whoever holds them. If you think we have used yours wrongly, our copyright policy is the route for telling us. Footage sent to us gets a caveat rather than a badge: we say what we could establish about where and when it was taken, and what we could not. The caveat is where our confidence is written down, so read it.

Advertising, sponsorship and affiliate links

Advertising pays for the site and an advertisement is never an editorial endorsement. Sponsored material carries a label at the top of the page, in the byline area and in the title, it names who paid for it, and it is not written by the reporters who cover the same subject. Claims made in an ad belong to the advertiser.

If a link on this site earns us a commission it is marked in the piece. We do not take payment to put a link inside a news story and we do not remove published stories for money. The advertiser categories we refuse outright are listed on our advertising page.

Errors, and what we are liable for

If you spot a mistake, tell us. Give the headline, the sentence, what it should say and how you know, and send it to support@somaliupdate.com. Every report gets a reply, including the ones where we conclude the piece was right. What happens next is set out in our corrections policy: a correction, a clarification or an update, marked on the page rather than edited away in silence.