Invisible People is an independent nonprofit newsroom dedicated exclusively to reporting on homelessness and related issues, including housing, healthcare, poverty, criminalization, and public policy.
Our journalism is grounded in accuracy, independence, fairness, transparency, and respect. Through original reporting, authentic storytelling, and lived experience, we help educate the public and policymakers about homelessness, the systems that contribute to it, and potential solutions.
Accuracy and Fact-Checking
Accuracy is our first responsibility. We verify facts, names, dates, statistics, quotations, and other material information before publication, relying whenever possible on primary documents, public records, direct interviews, original data, and credible sources.
When reporting involves disputed claims or conflicting accounts, we make reasonable efforts to verify the information and clearly attribute claims to their sources. We distinguish between what we know, what sources tell us, and what remains uncertain.
Original Reporting
Invisible People prioritizes original journalism, including firsthand interviews, public records, data analysis, field reporting, investigative reporting, and direct observation.
When we rely on reporting first published by another news organization, we credit and link to the original source whenever possible. We do not present another organization’s reporting as our own.
Sources and Attribution
We identify sources whenever possible so readers can evaluate the information for themselves.
Anonymous sources may be used when there is a legitimate reason to protect someone’s identity, including concerns involving safety, employment, housing, immigration status, medical privacy, or other potential harm. When anonymity is necessary, editors must know the source’s identity and evaluate their credibility, motivation, and access to the information. We do not grant anonymity simply to allow someone to make accusations without accountability.
Fairness and Context
Fairness does not require treating every claim as equally credible — it requires accurately representing relevant facts, evidence, perspectives, and context.
When reporting includes serious criticism or allegations about an identifiable individual, organization, government agency, or company, we make reasonable efforts to seek a response before publication. If they decline to comment or don’t respond within a reasonable timeframe, we may say so in the story.
Reporting on Homelessness
Homeless people are people, not symbols, statistics, or political talking points.
Our reporting explains both individual experiences and the larger systems that shape homelessness, including housing costs, public policy, healthcare, employment, discrimination, criminalization, and access to services. We avoid sensationalizing homelessness and using dehumanizing stereotypes, and we don’t assume every person experiencing homelessness shares the same experiences, needs, beliefs, or opinions.
Lived Experience
Lived experience is an important form of expertise. Invisible People publishes journalism and first-person perspectives from people who are currently or formerly homeless — contributors whose knowledge and perspectives traditional newsrooms have often overlooked.
First-person pieces are clearly presented as personal experiences or perspectives, not objective news reporting. Our editor works with lived-experience contributors to verify factual claims while preserving each contributor’s authentic voice.
Editorial Independence
Our journalism is produced independently of donors, sponsors, advertisers, government agencies, political organizations, service providers, and other outside interests. Invisible People does not allow donors or funders to determine our reporting, conclusions, editorial positions, or coverage decisions; funding does not guarantee favorable coverage or protection from scrutiny.
Sponsored or paid content, if published, will be clearly identified and distinguished from independent editorial content.
Conflicts of Interest
Writers and editors disclose financial, professional, personal, or organizational relationships that could reasonably create a conflict of interest in their reporting. When a potential conflict exists but doesn’t prevent publication, we disclose it to readers when appropriate.
Corrections and Updates
Invisible People is committed to accurate, ethical, and compassionate reporting on homelessness and housing insecurity. We take accuracy seriously and correct errors promptly and transparently. All articles are fact-checked and reflect the most reliable information available at the time of publication.
How we handle corrections: When we discover a factual, grammatical, or contextual error, we clearly label the correction at the bottom of the article, indicate what was corrected and why, and update the article’s timestamp and structured metadata if the correction is substantive. Significant corrections may also be noted at the top of the article.
Example: Correction (July 18, 2025): An earlier version of this article misstated the number of shelter residents affected. The correct figure is 1,600.
Minor spelling, grammar, formatting, or typographical changes generally do not require a correction notice unless they materially alter the meaning of the story. We do not silently change material facts or quotations.
Updates: News develops, and stories sometimes require updates after publication. When significant new information becomes available, we may update an article; substantive updates are identified when they materially change or expand the original reporting, while the original publication date is preserved.
How to request a correction: If you believe we’ve published inaccurate or misleading information, contact our editor at editor@invisiblepeople.tv with:
- The URL of the article
- A brief explanation of the issue
- Supporting evidence, if applicable
We aim to review all requests within 3–5 business days.
News, Analysis, Opinion, and First-Person Stories
We strive to make the nature of our content clear to readers. News reporting, analysis, opinion, and first-person narratives are distinguishable from one another. Opinion and commentary represent the views of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Invisible People.
Images, Video, and Digital Media
Photos, videos, and other media accurately represent the people, places, and events being reported. We do not manipulate documentary images or video in ways that materially misrepresent reality, and images that are illustrative rather than documentary are identified as such. We take particular care when publishing images of homeless people or others in vulnerable circumstances, weighing whether publication could create unnecessary harm.
Artificial Intelligence
AI may assist journalists and editors with research, transcription, organization, data analysis, or other production tasks, but it does not replace human editorial judgment. We do not knowingly publish AI-generated facts, quotations, sources, or photographs presented as documentary images without human verification. Journalists and editors remain responsible for the accuracy and integrity of everything Invisible People publishes.
Privacy and Harm
Public-interest journalism sometimes requires publishing information that individuals or organizations would prefer remain private, and publication can have real consequences. We weigh the public value of information against the potential for unnecessary harm, particularly when reporting on homeless people, survivors of violence, minors, and others in vulnerable circumstances.