Thrillist’s leadership team has created this statement of editorial and professional ethics to ensure our editorial independence, protect the integrity of our content, and provide transparency for our readers and viewers.

As a part of Vox Media, Thrillist also adheres to the Vox Media Editorial Ethics & Guidelines.

Advertising

Advertising is a source of Thrillist’s revenue. Vox Media, our parent company, has a dedicated sales team tasked with selling advertising space on Thrillist and other editorial brands at the company. 

Any piece of content or feature on a Vox Media brand that’s sponsored by a particular company or advertiser that is developed independently by the Vox Creative and Sales teams is clearly marked as an advertisement and as “Paid Content” or “Advertiser Content.” Advertisements and Paid Content do not necessarily reflect the views of Vox Media or our editorial teams; employees at Thrillist will not participate in the creation of campaigns or branded content for Vox Media advertisers.

Thrillist’s editorial teams do not directly accept money or other forms of compensation from individuals or entities as a condition or incentive to write a review or story, whether favorable or unfavorable. However, some of our editorial content is made possible through the support of sponsors. This content is clearly marked as content “Presented by” the applicable sponsor. While sponsors may select which content they wish to support, Vox Media does not allow our sales teams, Vox Creative, or our sponsors to control or interfere with the editorial process, integrity, and independent decision-making ability of our editorial teams and the content they create. All editorial content on Thrillist is based on the editorial team’s discretion, not on the desire of any company, advertiser, or PR firm.

Affiliate Links

Thrillist content may contain affiliate marketing links, which means our company will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content decisions. Vox Media does employ a commerce team to optimize certain content for affiliate revenue, and such content is marked as such by including an affiliate links disclosure.

Comps

Thrillist staffers and contributors are permitted to attend media events, press previews, dinners with publicists, and friends and family events. Employees will not solicit a comped check for a regular restaurant meal or experience; however, Thrillist staffers and contributors may accept a dish sent out by a restaurant’s kitchen during a meal that a staffer or contributor is otherwise paying for. They may also attend press trips and receive media rates for travel experiences (see Press Trips). 

Conflicts of Interest

Any Thrillist employee or contributor who has a conflict of interest will be recused from coverage and/or publicly disclose that conflict. Conflicts of interest can include a personal or family relationship, personal financial investment or donations, or working for or promoting a company or organization.

Vox Media also has a number of investors. These investors do not influence Thrillist’s reporting and do not have any involvement with our internal reporting process.

Content Removal

From time to time, Thrillist conducts internal content audits to identify old content that no longer aligns with our strategy, or brand direction and values. This content may be modified, updated, or removed at the discretion of editorial leadership. In some cases, the content may be replaced by an editor’s note explaining why it was removed.

Corrections

Because so many readers put their trust in us to provide them with useful and accurate information on where to go, what to eat, and what to do with their time and money to get the most out of their lives, we go out of our way to set the record straight with them. Thrillist staffers follow a comprehensive corrections policy. Mistakes brought to our attention will be corrected and noted in the content, and a piece of published content will not be taken down if it otherwise remains fair and accurate.

Giveaways

Thrillist will sometimes host contests and giveaways for readers. We will post rules for each contest, which will be binding on contestants who decide to participate. While giveaways or contests may be sponsored by an advertiser or partner, they are not, and should never be considered, endorsements of the companies involved or their products.

Harassment

Online and offline harassment are a real and growing problem that can have potentially life-changing consequences for those targeted by it. Thrillist takes seriously the impact this can have on our employees and contractors, and will use suitable measures to protect them.

If a Thrillist employee is found to be involved in conducting or encouraging the harassment of an individual, we will take appropriate action.

Other Employment

Thrillist employees are not allowed to be otherwise employed by or receive compensation from companies that they are likely to cover, nor are they permitted to have any advisory role (paid or unpaid) at those companies. In general, our writers and editors are not allowed to produce content for other publications without the express permission of leadership.

Partnerships

From time to time, Vox Media engages with other businesses, brands, and organizations whose activities resonate with the company as a whole, or with one or more of our editorial teams. These partnerships do not impact the content that our editorial teams independently publish. However, other teams at Vox Media may create content as part of these partnerships, and we may publish this content on our editorial sites. In these cases, we will include a disclosure to describe the nature of the relationship between our editorial brand(s) and the partner(s) and the extent to which our editorial teams were involved in the creation of the content.

Plagiarism

Thrillist does not tolerate plagiarism. Any reports of plagiarism will be investigated and addressed with the writers and editors who worked on the content in question. The content will be updated as necessary.

Press Trips

Thrillist staffers are able to attend press trips and accept subsidized rates as a means to enrich our travel coverage. All content based on these trips—written, video, social, or otherwise—is created at the discretion of the editorial team with the same level of objectivity and other editorial standards as content unrelated to press trips. Acceptance of a trip invite does not guarantee coverage on Thrillist, its platforms, or other Vox Media networks. As a general rule, we do not provide the opportunity to review content prior to publication to any outside party, and content based on press trips is no exception. 

Professional Appearances

Thrillist employees are sometimes invited to appear in a professional capacity as experts on television, news shows, podcasts, and social channels, in stories, or at events, some of which are organized by brands or companies that we may cover. These appearances do not constitute endorsement by the employee, Thrillist, or Vox Media of such brands or companies, or of any products, companies, or services discussed.

Social Media

Vox Media hires employees for their strong, expert voices, and values their ability to build positive communities and influence on our social media platforms and their own. Thrillist employees are expected to follow Vox Media’s social media policy as well as the policies of their teams and other applicable guidelines.

Sources

Some of Thrillist’s sources do not wish to be named, and we grant anonymity when we know our sources to be credible and reliable, and that their story would otherwise not be told. We make best efforts to confirm the veracity of the information provided by anonymous sources and will not include any information we have not thoroughly vetted.