Content Policy and Agreement: For Advertising Partners and Magazine Editorial Content

Content Policy Agreement

Our Mission

To empower people to use their God-given gifts.

Introduction

City Lifestyle produces community-based content across the country. Our content is for, by, and about the residents of each community, focusing on family features, local businesses, and community events. Our goal is to connect local, reputable businesses to readers in need of their services.

It is also important to us that we remain respectful of the knowledge that our readers did not subscribe to our publication. Our users can consistently count on our content to be inspiring, instructional, and uplifting. To that end, we do not entertain content within our advertisements or our editorial that could be construed as divisive, exclusionary, or unnecessarily graphic. As we are a national organization that relies heavily on scalable processes to ensure continued growth, our stance on certain content policies cannot be reflective of a local community's leanings, but instead, must account for the national tone or narrative around a specific topic.

The following document is an ever-evolving collection of our current content policies regarding a variety of topics. There is no distinction regarding the application to advertising versus editorial. These policies can be universally applied to all content submissions.

Polarizing and Divisive Topics

City Lifestyle is a family-friendly platform, and we endeavor to provide our readers with content that is inspiring, instructional, and uplifting. As such, we review all content submissions to ensure that our products can stay true to our company mission statement, do not contain divisive content of any kind, and focus only on the good news of local communities and the world. We want to be certain that the messages in submissions are well received, so we reserve the right to request edits to or remove any content deemed inappropriate for publishing. 

Content subjects that may be flagged for edits or removal include (but are not limited to):

Casinos, Clubs, and Other Addictive Behaviors 

City Lifestyle does not condone facilities that construct an environment that actively works to manipulate the public into engaging in — and creating a recurring lifestyle around — addictive and potentially damaging behavior. 

However, we understand that some of these organizations offer other services, activities, and events that the community may enjoy. As such, contracted partnerships can be arranged as long as commonly addictive pastimes — such as gambling or public intoxication — are not promoted. The use of the term “casino” must be restricted to the physical address, proper name of the establishment, and/or logo only. 

In addition, other addictive behaviors should be sensitively portrayed through a lens of moderation — interpretation of which is up to the discretion of City Lifestyle. 

Other content that may be denied on the basis of our Casinos, Clubs, and Other Addictive Behaviors policy includes (but is not limited to): 

• Dispensaries 
• Cigarettes 
• Vaping 
• Smoking accessories 
• Drug paraphernalia 

Lawyers 

We recognize that there is a lot of revenue opportunity in partnerships with legal representatives and firms. While there are currently no restrictions on the law specialties that can advertise within our print publications, not all of those specialties are appropriate for in-depth coverage in our print content that is mailed directly to readers’ homes. The following subjects do not align with our efforts to deliver the good news of communities directly to doorsteps: 

• Divorce 
• Sex trafficking or sex-related legal matters 
• Criminal prosecution 
• Drug- or alcohol-related legal matters
• Immigration law 
• Criminal law in any capacity 

However, we also provide our clients with an elite digital marketing platform on citylifestyle.com, and our premium partners have the ability to publish self-authored articles directly to their personalized business pages. These digital-only articles are a great way for our clients to share their realm of expertise with readers who are specifically looking for more information regarding their specialty services. Please note, it is still our practice to review these articles prior to publishing to ensure that they don’t violate our other policies, such as our policies around Social Issues or Triggering Content 

Marijuana (Medical and Recreational) and CBD 

Until a time when the use of medical and recreational marijuana is universally legalized, federally regulated, and the social tone regarding the topic is deemed to be one of acceptance and support, City Lifestyle will not advertise the sale or use of marijuana or partner with organizations that participate in its sale and distribution, regardless of the legality on the state level.  

We will allow advertisements and content around the uses and sale of CBD. While also made from hemp, we have determined that the legality and tone around this particular topic is considered relatively acceptable on a national scale. However, to avoid any association with the marijuana industry until a time when our stance on marijuana changes, the following content guidelines must be followed when including content about CBD and hemp-based products:

• We will allow small graphic representations of cannabis leaves in conjunction with clearly marked hemp products on the labels of product shots.
• We will not allow photography of cannabis leaves -— hemp or otherwise — in their natural, dried, or raw form.
• We will not include company logos if they include depictions of hemp leaves.

In addition, at this time, City Lifestyle will not allow the advertisement of Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-8 THC) or other products that the FDA has formally issued warnings against.

Medical Content

While the content and services that our advertising partners in the medical field can provide may be relevant to our audience, our print publications are not necessarily the place for in-depth or graphic medical information. We reserve the right to request edits or reject medical content, including, but not limited to:

• Content about genitalia in all its forms
• Sex, sexual performance, or sexuality
• Infections, visual or descriptive
• Imagery that violates our Nudity, Adult Novelty + Sexualized Content clause
• Imagery that violates our Triggering Content policy
• Graphic procedural representations 

A general rule of thumb regarding medical content in our printed publications is that specific services can be listed in advertisements or print articles, but imagery or in-depth explanations and/or descriptions around various procedures or afflictions will be heavily regulated or outright removed. 

However, we also provide our clients with an elite digital marketing platform on citylifestyle.com, and our premium partners have the ability to publish self-authored articles directly to their personalized business pages. These digital-only articles are a great way for our clients to share their realm of expertise with readers who are specifically looking for more information regarding their medical services. Please note, it is still our practice to review these articles prior to publishing to ensure that they don’t violate our other policies, such as our policies around Social Issues or Triggering Content. 

Nudity, Adult Novelty + Sexualized Content

We restrict the display of nudity, sexual activity, or sexualized content (including many displays of physical affection) because some people in our community may be sensitive to this type of content. Additionally, we default to removing sexualized imagery to avoid commentary on common social issues and to prevent the sharing of non-consensual or underage content. This includes overtly sexual poses, common displays of sexual affection (like kissing), or sensitively revealing outfits, even if taken in a public forum, such as on a public beach.

In all imagery:

• Underwear, lingerie, or its likeness will not be shown on models
• There should be the intention of full coverage of the buttocks and breasts
• Environment is key, and attire should showcase a positive, family-friendly lifestyle in an appropriate environment rather than focusing on body objectification. For example, models in swimwear should be in an aquatic environment, not a studio setting.

Our nudity policies have become more nuanced over time. We understand that nudity can be shared for a variety of reasons, including raising awareness about a cause or for educational or medical purposes. Where such intent is clear, we may make allowances for the content. For example, while we may restrict images of individuals in bedrooms wearing conservative lingerie or undergarments, we may allow photographs of paintings, sculptures, and other public art that depict nude figures. In all cases, cover imagery will be held to stricter standards regarding this policy.

Other content that may be denied based on our Nudity, Adult Novelty, and Sexualized Content clause includes (but is not limited to):

• Underwear, lingerie, and some sleepwear
• Presence of by-products of sexual activity
• Sexual stimulation on your body or the body of another, even if above or under clothing
• Use of adult novelty toys, even if above or under clothing
• Intentional fetish content of any kind
• Imagery that violates our Triggering Content policy

Polarizing, Negative, Unorthodox, or Unsubstantiated Content 

Additional industries or topics that may be denied include, but are not limited to:

• Gun Laws 
• Family Planning
• Divorce 
• Sex and Sexuality
• Social Reform
• Race Relations
• Occult Content (Psychics, Mediums, Astrology, etc)
• Novelty or fetish shops
• Claims around “healing” that are not substantiated by the national medical community at large
• Services that claim metaphysical or spiritual results for payment

Weapons, Ammunition, or Explosives 

While we respect the U.S. Second Amendment right to bear arms, we acknowledge that content around weapons, ammunition, or explosives can be triggering to victims of gun violence and combat veterans. For this reason, we reserve the right to request edits or remove content in accordance with the following guidelines.

Content can promote or include:

• Safety courses for firearm training or licenses, as well as books and videos about firearm safety
• Plastic guns, swords, and toy weapons
• Shooting in a sport setting, including hunting non-endangered  species
• The legal buying and selling of guns and accessories at a licensed retailer

Content can not promote or include:

• Gun laws, gun advocacy or reform groups, including logos
• Explosives, excluding fireworks for celebratory purposes
• Reviews of firearms or any other prohibited weapons or weapon modifications
• Imagery of weaponry pointed at the viewer or another individual

Politics 

Do not advertise or profile actively campaigning candidates for any kind of public office role, including, but not limited to, judgeships, union representatives, and mayoral candidates. Highlighting currently serving elected representatives may be done from a human-interest perspective as long as the individual is not considered nationally divisive, and if political platforms, alienating beliefs, proposed plans, and proposed projects are not discussed. 

In addition, there should be no mention in editorial content or advertisements regarding upcoming elections, ballots, amendments, or propositions. 

Social Issues 

We aim to be inclusive of all lifestyles and backgrounds and believe that categorizing content or events by topics such as race, sexuality, gender identity, religion, etc, cultivates an environment of exclusion. As such, we reserve the right to request edits to or reject or remove content that focuses too heavily on trending social issues or movements, as worthy as they may be of spotlighting. 

Weddings 

While many lifestyle-focused magazines devote entire issues to wedding themes, we find that this can be a polarizing topic for our readers. There are so many traditions, faiths, and beliefs associated with the union of marriage that we aim to be very thoughtful in our approach to covering the subject. Incorporating singular articles about wedding styling, wedding venues, or similar trends can be accepted within reason. Similarly, advertising partnerships with event venues, caterers, photographers, and similar services that may specialize in wedding events are also acceptable as long as they are in alignment with the other appropriateness standards referenced in this document. 

We cannot, however, support full issues devoted to the theme or subject matter of weddings. Being cognizant of the fact that our readers have not subscribed to or purchased our publication, we find that wedding issues are a micro topic that will exclude the majority of our readers, as only a small fraction of our audience may be in the midst of planning a wedding. In addition, as we outlined above, the devotion of a full issue to the topic of weddings and unions increases the likelihood that content will wade into a divisive or polarizing territory.

Business Content 

To provide our readers with authentic content that is inspiring, instructional, and uplifting, we reserve the right to request edits, remove, or apply a standard “sponsored” tag to content that appears to be solely promotional or profit-driven. Telling our readers about these kinds of relationships is important because it helps keep our recommendations honest and truthful, and that transparency goes a long way in maintaining our position as experts in our sphere of influence. 

Branded Editorial Content

Branded artwork and content are accepted through our premium business accounts, and all associated content will default to publishing with a standard “sponsored” tag. In addition, branded content can be featured in our print publications — and subsequently online around the first of the month — in association with a signed and approved advertising contract. We define branded content as a submission that features or is influenced by a personal business or business partner for an exchange of value. 

Business or branded articles should also go beyond an ‘about’ or announcement-type write-up. We’re looking for the story behind the businesses or organizations, and readers should walk away from the article with new, valuable knowledge. Whether that’s something that moved them, helpful tips, or inspirational projects, it should be more than the basic info.

When mentioning a company in a print article, you’re encouraged to select that company in the ‘company’ section of the assignment screen, which will add a link to their City Lifestyle business directory listing when the article pushes to the website. 

Sponsored Content + Product Promotion 

When writing about a business or brand, if any arrangement or partnership exists between you and the company, or there were any deliverables on one or both sides, that relationship should be disclosed, and all associated content may be marked with a standard “sponsored” tag. 

If you endorse a product through an article, your endorsement message should make it obvious when you have a relationship (“material connection”) with the brand. A “material connection” to the brand includes a personal, family, or employment relationship or a financial relationship – such as the brand paying you or giving you free or discounted products or services. 

Do not: 

• Talk about your experience with a product you haven’t tried. 
• Lie about a product that you thought was terrible by endorsing it for profit. 
• Make up claims about a product that would require proof the advertiser doesn’t have, such as scientific proof that a product can treat a health condition. 
• Direct readers to vote for or follow you on third-party sites for profit except for (but not necessarily limited to) Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, YouTube, and LikeToKnow.it.

It is your responsibility to comply with all applicable laws and FTC disclosures.

Crowdsourcing + Donations

We understand that many of you may be working on worthy passion projects and wish to share these innovations with our users. We love to hear about what you are working on, but also want our readers to feel free of consumer pressures while interacting with our media platforms. You may not explicitly seek or request donations from our readers and users if you, as the publisher or your franchise staff, are the beneficiary of the donations or crowdsourcing.

You may include content in relation to crowdsourcing and donations in your magazine as long as the guidelines outlined in our Business Content section or other related sections are respected. We reserve the right to request edits to or reject content based upon the guidelines outlined in this document. Please remember that our goal is for content to be inspiring, instructional, and uplifting.

Language + Quality 

We have no desire to silence your creative voice, but we do wish to be mindful of the readability of our content. The following categorizations may result in minor edits by our team, a request for edits by you prior to publishing, or removal of your content. 

Before and After Imagery 

Marketers, especially those in the health and beauty sectors, often use ‘before and after’ photos of subjects to provide a visual representation of the effectiveness of their products. For best practices, we highly recommend using after-only photos in print ads and providing a link or QR code to before photos. This helps to drive traffic to client websites while our ad and editorial content can stay conducive to the aesthetic of our brand. Any imagery violating any of our other policies will be denied, including but not limited to Nudity, Adult Novelty + Sexualized Content, and Triggering Content. In addition, imagery exemplifying extreme bodily conditions or disorders of any kind may also be denied.

Family-Friendly 

Any wording that is not family-friendly may be altered or denied. This could be a play on words, such as:

• Knotty Rug – “We have been laid in every room in the house.” 

In addition, minors should not be depicted holding age-restricted products. 

Personal Reflections

Articles should be objective content with a hyper-local angle geared toward lifestyle topics such as trends, helpful tips, and inspirational projects. Our site is not aimed at exploring content that contains details about your thoughts, feelings, memories, or experiences, however entertaining, compassionate, or significant they may be. Anecdotes or descriptions of a situation should serve an informational purpose that adds value to the article, such as briefly referencing a story with the intention of demonstrating or supporting a point you want to make. Content that tells a personal story about your life, friends, or family, is driven by emotion or opinion, heavily relies on the first-person voice, or necessitates mentioning the names of people in narratives, may be considered personally reflective and result in a request for edits or removal of your content.

Hate Speech and Cruelty 

We do not allow content that promotes violence or hatred against people based on characteristics like race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, disease, age, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. 

We do not allow submissions or ambassador representatives that glorify, celebrate, downplay, or trivialize violence, suffering, abuse, or deaths of individuals or groups. We do not allow calls for intolerance, exclusion, or segregation based on protected characteristics, nor do we allow the glorification of groups that do any of the above.

Triggering Content 

We restrict imagery, phrases, terminology, statements, or content regarding (but not limited to) the following list of subjects because some people in our community may be sensitive to this type of content and consider it triggering for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other anxiety disorders:

• Sexual Assault
• Abuse 
• Child abuse/pedophilia/incest 
• Animal cruelty or animal death 
• Self-harm and suicide 
• Eating disorders, body hatred, and fat phobia 
• Violence and gun shootings, including imagery of active shooters 
• Pornographic content 
• Kidnapping and abduction 
• Death or dying 
• Pregnancy/Childbirth 
• Miscarriages/Abortion
• Blood and other medical procedures 
• Mental illness and ableism 
• Racism and racial slurs 
• Sexism and misogyny 
• Classism 
• Hateful language directed at religious groups (e.g., Islamophobia, antisemitism)
• Transphobia and trans misogyny 
• Homophobia and heterosexism 

Profanity 

Language or words considered profane will be changed to asterisks when the intended meaning aligns with the other clauses outlined in this document. Excessive profanity may result in a request for edits or removal of content.

Regulated Goods 

To encourage safety and compliance with common legal restrictions, we prohibit attempts by individuals, manufacturers, and retailers to purchase, sell, or trade non-medical drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, and marijuana. We also prohibit the gifting, exchange, and transfer of firearms, including firearm parts or ammunition. Some of these items are not regulated everywhere; however, because of the borderless nature of our community, we try to enforce our policies as consistently as possible. Firearm stores and online retailers may promote items available for sale through our services as long as those retailers comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Regulated goods that are not prohibited by our Community Standards may be subject to our more stringent Commerce Policies. 

Do not submit:

Firearms content that:

• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, or solicit firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, or lethal enhancements between private individuals.
• Provides access to 3D printing or computer-aided manufacturing instructions for firearms or firearms parts, even when posted by brick and mortar stores, brands, and legitimate websites. 

Non-medical drug content that: 

• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, or solicit non-medical drugs 
• Admits to buying or trading non-medical drugs by the creator of the content themselves or through others 
• Admits to personal use without acknowledgment of or reference to recovery, treatment, or other assistance to combat usage 
• Promotes, encourages, coordinates, or provides instructions for use or manufacture of non-medical drugs 

Marijuana or pharmaceutical drug content that:

• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, or solicit marijuana or pharmaceutical drugs

Alcohol or tobacco content that: 

• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, or gift alcohol or tobacco products between private individuals 

Endangered species content that: 

• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, or solicit endangered species or their parts
• Admits to poaching, buying, or trading of endangered species and their parts
• Depicts the poaching of endangered species and their parts 
• Speaks positively of the poaching of endangered species and their parts 
• Promotes, encourages, or coordinates the poaching of endangered species and their parts 

Non-endangered species content that: 

• Attempts to buy, sell, or trade live non-endangered animals between private individuals

Diet product content: 

• About weight loss that contains a miracle claim with a commercial offer

Spam

We work hard to limit the spread of spam because we do not want to allow content that is designed to deceive or that attempts to mislead users to increase viewership. This content creates a negative user experience and detracts from people's ability to engage authentically with us. We also aim to prevent people from abusing our platforms, products, or features to artificially increase viewership or distribute content en masse for commercial gain.

Do not: 

• Submit content or create accounts either manually or automatically, at very high frequencies.
• Attempt to or successfully sell, buy, or exchange site privileges or product features except in the case of clearly identified branded content, as defined by our Branded Content clause.
• Require or claim that users are required to engage with content (e.g., liking, sharing) before they are able to view or interact with promised content. 
• Encourage likes, shares, follows, clicks, or the use of apps or websites as outlined in our Product Promotion and Self Promotion Policy. 

Directing users through the deceptive or misleading use of URLs, defined as:

• Cloaking: Presenting different content to users.
• Misleading content: Content contains a link that promises one type of content but delivers something substantially different. 
• Deceptive Pop-up websites: Websites that require an action (captcha, watch ad, click here) in order to view the expected landing page content, and the domain name of the URL changes after the required action is complete.
• Like /Share-Gating: Landing pages that require users to like, share, or otherwise engage with content before gaining access to off-CityLifestyle.com content. 
• Deceptive Landing Page Functionality: Websites that have a misleading user interface, which results in accidental traffic being generated (pop-ups/unders, clickjacking, etc.) ○ Impersonation: The website pretends to be a reputable brand or service by using a name, domain, or content featuring typos, misspellings, or other means to impersonate well-known brands, such as www.faceb00k.com, www.city_lifestyle.com, using a landing page similar to another, trusted site to mislead visitors. 
• And other behaviors that are substantially similar to those listed above.

Manipulated and AI Media 

Media, including image, audio, or video, can be edited in a variety of ways. In many cases, these changes are benign, like a filter effect on a photo. In other cases, the manipulation isn’t apparent and could mislead. We choose not to include video or photography that is the product of artificial intelligence or machine learning as part of our editorial content, as it is contrary to our goal of providing authentic, hyper-local community subject matter for our readers. 

In addition, we aim to remove this category of manipulated media across all our media channels when: 

• Video or photography is the product of or substantially altered by artificial intelligence that is meant to realistically represent the appearance, voice, or persona of a public figure, celebrity, or well-known likeness.
• Video or photography has been edited or synthesized, beyond adjustments for clarity or quality, in ways that are not apparent to an average person, and would likely mislead an average person to believe that a subject of the video or photography said words or acted in a way that they did not. 
• Video or photography is the product of artificial intelligence or machine learning, including deep learning techniques (e.g., a technical deepfake), that merges, combines, replaces, and/or superimposes content onto a video, creating a video that appears authentic.

All other instances of manipulated media are subject to interpretation by our quality control team and may result in a request for edits or removal of content.

Violence + Incitement 

In our hope to provide our readers with inspirational, instructional, and uplifting content, we reserve the right to reject content or terminate ambassador profiles that threaten or call for violence. We try to consider the language and context in order to distinguish casual statements from content that constitutes a credible threat. 

Dangerous Individuals or Organizations

In an effort to prevent and disrupt real-world harm, we do not allow any organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence to have a presence on City Lifestyle. This includes organizations or individuals involved in the following: 

• Terrorist activity 
• Organized hate 
• Mass murder (including attempts) or multiple murder 
• Human trafficking 
• Organized violence or criminal activity 

We will also remove content that expresses support or praise for groups, leaders, or individuals involved in these activities.

Fraud + Deception 

In an effort to prevent and disrupt harmful or fraudulent activity, we remove content aimed at deliberately deceiving people to gain an unfair advantage or depriving another of money, property, or legal rights.