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Advertising policy

Paid messages must stay clearly labeled.

CultureUp can support advertising and sponsorship only when the reader can tell what is paid, what is editorial, and where source notes and corrections remain independent.

View media kitPartner intakePrivacy notes

Reader promise

label
Clearly labeled advertising
network
Eligible reader surfaces only
tracking
Privacy policy governs paid media partners
creative
Paid messages stay separate from editorial work

Sponsor policy

Sponsor support cannot become editorial influence.

CultureUp can sell sponsor-safe surfaces, but story claims, source interpretation, rankings, identity conclusions, and correction decisions stay editorial.

Editorial independence

Sponsors may support CultureUp network surfaces, but they do not control editorial conclusions, rankings, source interpretation, identity conclusions, correction decisions, or coverage labels.

  • Sponsored support must be labeled before the reader reaches the paid message.
  • Sponsors cannot buy favorable coverage or veto editorial findings.
  • Sponsor conversations must stay separate from story tips, corrections, source review, and contributor assignment.

Disclosure placement

Every sponsor surface needs a visible label at the placement, not only in policy pages, footer links, or about copy.

  • Sponsored by [Sponsor]
  • Partner Message
  • This series is supported by [Sponsor]. Editorial conclusions remain independent.

Category review

CultureUp prioritizes high-trust cultural, education, archive, publishing, media, and public-history partners. Sensitive or unsafe categories are rejected or escalated before any pitch advances.

  • Identity certification products
  • Legal-status or tribal-status claims
  • Miracle ancestry or DNA certainty products
  • Predatory finance
  • Misleading political persuasion
  • Adult, gambling, nicotine, alcohol, or unsafe health claims
  • Any advertiser requiring editorial conclusion control

Reporting and privacy

Sponsor reporting should use defined UTM rules and approved templates. No third-party tracker, pixel, sponsor database sync, or newsletter platform is approved before privacy review.

  • Current partner intake prepares an email note and may save a browser-local draft.
  • Detailed sponsor reporting remains gated on approved measurement, newsletter, UTM, and support ownership.
  • Sponsor measurement must not expose editorial source review or private submission details.

Placement map

Paid surfaces follow reader intent.

The first screen stays editorial. Ads appear after mission, search, tools, source, and correction paths are available to readers.

In-feed

Homepage secondary in-feed unit

Homepage
Reader moment
Reader is moving from section highlights toward deeper site paths.
Size target
Fluid in-feed unit with stable minimum height.
Rule
Place below one major homepage section and above subsequent homepage sections.
Safety note
Never appears above hero, mission, or primary reader actions.

Leaderboard

Homepage mid-page leader

Homepage
Reader moment
Reader has seen the mission and featured story area.
Size target
Fluid 728x90 style unit with mobile-safe height.
Rule
Place after featured/latest editorial slots and before topic browsing.
Safety note
Keeps monetization below primary brand positioning and away from reader CTAs.

In-feed

Utility page in-feed

Updates, Reading Paths, Glossary, Briefing, Source Index
Reader moment
Reader is moving from utility-page context toward list/search surfaces.
Size target
Fluid in-feed card with stable minimum height.
Rule
Place after utility-page context/intro modules and before list/search modules.
Safety note
Keep search controls and trust-critical labels visible and ad-distinct.

Sidebar

Utility page sidebar

Updates, Reading Paths, Glossary, Briefing, Source Index
Reader moment
Reader is scanning utility notes and contextual navigation.
Size target
300x250 to 300x600 friendly sidebar unit.
Rule
Place below utility notes and above optional secondary CTAs.
Safety note
Never overlays filters, search fields, or correction/source controls.

In-feed

Article in-body unit 1

Article pages
Reader moment
Reader has completed the opening section and continues through story context.
Size target
Fluid in-article unit with stable minimum height.
Rule
Place after the story body and before the second in-article unit or sources stack.
Safety note
Do not split first-paragraph flow or source labels.

In-feed

Article in-body unit 2

Article pages
Reader moment
Reader is transitioning from body context into source and related modules.
Size target
Fluid in-article unit with stable minimum height.
Rule
Place after in-body unit 1 and before source list/related content.
Safety note
Must remain below reader tools and correction links in flow hierarchy.

In-feed

Section in-feed

News, Culture, Science & Tech, Politics, World, Community, Opinion
Reader moment
Reader is moving from the lead story area into latest coverage.
Size target
Fluid in-feed card, stable minimum height.
Rule
Place between the featured story section and latest story list on section pages.
Safety note
Never replaces an editorial card and stays visibly separate from story results.

Sidebar

Section sidebar

Section pages
Reader moment
Reader is scanning editorial notes and contribution paths.
Size target
300x250 to 300x600 friendly sidebar unit.
Rule
Place below editorial notes and above conversion CTAs on desktop; stack naturally on mobile.
Safety note
Avoids sticky full-height takeovers and keeps disclosure visible.

In-feed

Collection in-feed

Stories and Media collections
Reader moment
Reader is choosing the next item inside a collection.
Size target
Fluid in-feed card, stable minimum height.
Rule
Place after the featured collection item and before the browse list.
Safety note
Does not sit inside story cards or imitate article metadata.

Sidebar

Collection sidebar

Stories and Media collections
Reader moment
Reader is using collection notes and category links.
Size target
300x250 friendly sidebar unit.
Rule
Place between editorial notes and category links.
Safety note
Keeps ads away from source notes and editorial labels.

Sidebar

Article sidebar

Article pages
Reader moment
Reader is checking article tools, record details, or correction paths.
Size target
300x250 friendly sidebar unit.
Rule
Place after article record and correction links, never above reader tools.
Safety note
Keeps correction, source, and save actions above monetization.

Article footer

After-article unit

Article pages
Reader moment
Reader has completed the article body before source lists and related reading.
Size target
Fluid end-of-article unit.
Rule
Place after the article body and before sources, related reading, and newsletter modules.
Safety note
Avoids interrupting paragraphs and protects reading flow.

Sidebar

Explore sidebar

Explore search
Reader moment
Reader is browsing the archive and filtering site paths.
Size target
300x250 friendly sidebar unit.
Rule
Place after featured archive paths and before archive lane notes.
Safety note
Keeps search controls, result counts, and reset actions ad-free.

Before paid creative appears

What must stay true.

Privacy update

Review Privacy Policy before adding any new ad provider, sponsor tracker, pixel, or analytics tag beyond the approved AdSense path.

Creative review

Approve creative category, destination URL, sponsor disclosure, claims, and image rights before paid creative appears.

Editorial separation

Keep paid placements separate from News, Analysis, Opinion, Community Story, and Correction labels.

Performance check

Confirm no layout shift, no horizontal overflow, and no heavy third-party script delay on mobile.