Pabwalo publishes researched articles on development and public policy. Every piece is reviewed before it goes live. If it meets these rules it is published. If not, you get notes and can fix and resend it.
The basics
- A title, and a one-line description of 200 characters or fewer.
- Between 600 and 6,000 words. Most good pieces are 1,800 to 3,000.
- At least one source with a web link. Put sources in the source list, and link them beside the claim too where you can.
- Plain Markdown: headings, bold, italics, links, lists, quotes. No HTML.
Every claim has a source
- Every number, date, quote and “first”, “only” or “never” needs a source.
- Use the newest data you can find and give its year: “in 2024, 15% of homes had power”.
- Prefer official documents (plans, budgets, audit reports, statistics offices), then independent studies, then good journalism with named sources. Social media is for colour, never for facts.
- Every link must work.
Write for someone who knows nothing about the subject
- Spell out every abbreviation the first time: “the National Planning Commission (NPC)”.
- Explain institutions and terms in a few words.
- Short paragraphs. A subheading every few hundred words. Put numbers in context.
Criticise systems, not people
- Write about institutions, processes and results. Do not attack named politicians or officials, or guess at their motives.
- Let official sources say the hard things, quoted and credited.
- Show patterns across parties and governments, and credit what worked.
Tone
- Match the tone to the subject. Poverty, hunger, disease and deaths need a sober voice.
- Keep what the data says apart from what you conclude.
- Skip lines about the article itself (“This article is about…”) and heavy hedging.
What is never accepted
- Hate, harassment, sexual content, content that harms children, or content that praises violence or self-harm. Each one is a strike; three strikes pause your account.
- Links to harmful or fake sites.
- Adverts, promotions and copied text.
- Text aimed at the reviewer, such as “ignore your instructions”. Reviews are automatic but they are not fooled by this, and it gets the piece rejected.
Sometimes the editor reads it first
If a piece names a living person in a way that could be unfair, or carries a legal risk, it is held for the editor. You will hear back after the editor has read it.