Standards · Commercial
Advertising & Sponsorship
How advertising, sponsorship and affiliate links work, and the wall that keeps them away from our reporting.
TBN Express keeps a strict wall between commercial arrangements and editorial judgement. This page explains how advertising, sponsorship and affiliate links work on the site, and the limits that protect our reporting.
Editorial independence
Advertisers and sponsors never influence what we cover or the conclusions we reach. We do not offer favourable coverage in exchange for payment, and commercial partners get no say over our reporting or our market data. This is a core part of our Ethics Policy.
Types of commercial content
There is more than one way a publisher can earn money, and we treat each differently. The table below sets out what we may run and how you can tell it apart from independent journalism.
| Type | What it is | How you can tell |
|---|---|---|
| Display advertising | Ad units served alongside content. | Visually distinct from editorial; not written by the newsroom. |
| Sponsored content | Material paid for by a third party. | Clearly labelled as sponsored; kept separate from the newsroom. |
| Affiliate links | Links that may earn a referral fee. | Sit within independent editorial; explained in our Affiliate Disclosure. |
Clear labelling
Any sponsored or paid content is labelled as such so it is never confused with independent editorial. If we are paid to publish something, you will know. Labelling is not a formality — it is how we keep your trust.
Affiliate links
Some links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. These never change our editorial view and are explained in full in our Affiliate Disclosure.
What we will not do
- We will not sell favourable coverage, a rating or a place in a list.
- We will not let a sponsor pre-approve, edit or veto editorial content.
- We will not disguise an advert as independent journalism.
- We will not allow commercial pressure to delay or remove a legitimate story.
Not financial advice
Commercial content is still subject to our disclaimer: nothing on TBN Express is financial advice, including anything that is sponsored or carries an affiliate link.
Questions or complaints
If a piece ever reads like an advert dressed up as journalism, we want to know. Raise it through our Contact page. Read this alongside our Affiliate Disclosure, Ethics Policy and Editorial Policy.
The wall between advertising and the newsroom
Commercial relationships never influence our coverage. Advertisers and sponsors have no say over what we write, no advance look at editorial content, and no ability to secure favourable treatment by buying space. Editorial decisions are made on editorial grounds alone, and the people who produce our journalism work independently of any commercial arrangement. Keeping this separation strict is what allows a reader to trust that a positive — or negative — mention reflects our honest assessment rather than a paid placement.
How commercial content is labelled
When content is paid for or commercially arranged, we say so clearly and in plain language, so there is never ambiguity about what you are reading. Sponsored material is visually distinct from editorial coverage and identified as such; affiliate links are disclosed; and we do not disguise advertising as independent reporting. The principle is simple: readers should always be able to tell, at a glance, whether they are looking at journalism or at a commercial message. Our affiliate disclosure explains the link-based side of this in more detail.
What we decline
Some commercial opportunities are not worth the cost to reader trust, and we turn them down. We do not accept arrangements that require us to suppress unfavourable information, present a paid claim as our own editorial judgement, or promote something we consider misleading or harmful. We are especially careful with financial promotions, given the real money readers may put at risk. No single advertiser is worth more than the credibility of the whole site, and we treat that as a firm limit rather than a flexible one.
Affiliate revenue and independence
Some links on the site may earn us a commission, and we disclose that plainly. What a commission never buys is editorial favour: an affiliate relationship does not change our assessment of a product, raise its placement in our coverage, or soften criticism it deserves. We would rather forgo revenue than recommend something we do not stand behind, because a recommendation that has been quietly paid for is worthless to the reader and corrosive to the site. The full details of how these links work are set out in our affiliate disclosure.
Raising a concern
If you ever feel a piece of commercial content was not clearly labelled, or that an advertiser appeared to influence our coverage, we want to hear about it. You can reach us through our contact page, and we treat complaints about labelling and independence as seriously as we treat factual corrections. Holding ourselves to these standards in public is part of how we keep them — and your scrutiny is a feature of that process, not an inconvenience to it.
Why this separation protects you
The reason we are strict about the line between commerce and coverage is that the whole value of the site depends on it. A market explainer or a product mention is only useful if you can trust it reflects our honest assessment rather than whoever paid the most. The moment advertising can quietly shape what we say, every page becomes suspect, including the ones that are entirely independent. Keeping commercial content clearly labelled, keeping advertisers out of editorial decisions, and turning down arrangements that would compromise either is therefore not a courtesy — it is what makes our coverage worth reading at all. We would rather protect that trust and earn less than trade it away, and we treat that as a permanent commitment rather than a current preference.
Frequently asked questions
Can companies pay for favourable coverage?
Is sponsored content labelled?
Can a sponsor edit or approve your articles?
Do affiliate links cost me more?
Explore more
Affiliate Disclosure
How affiliate links work on TBN Express.
Read the disclosure →Ethics Policy
Independence, conflicts and disclosure rules.
Read the policy →Disclaimer
Why our content is information, not advice.
Read the disclaimer →Editorial Policy
The standards behind everything we publish.
Read the policy →