How we write obituary guides without turning sensitive information into thin or harmful content
Our standard is simple: be useful, source-based, careful with family privacy, and practical for readers who need official links and next steps.
Core Editorial Rules
- Use the person’s name, city, age and service details only when a reliable public source or family-authorized source supports it.
- Do not invent family members, survivors, funeral details, cemetery names, cause of death or biography details.
- Separate confirmed facts from practical guidance; never make a funeral-home listing look like a government record.
- Use official links for death certificates, Social Security death reporting, veteran burial benefits and funeral consumer rights.
- Write for clarity: short paragraphs, task-based sections, visible source links and no keyword stuffing.
How We Handle Sensitive Details
Some obituary pages include sensitive contexts such as sudden death, accident, crime, health condition, child death or family dispute. We do not add those details unless they are directly necessary to explain an official public record or family-published notice, and even then we avoid graphic or speculative language.
| Detail type | Editorial treatment |
|---|---|
| Cause of death | Not included unless publicly stated by an official or family source and necessary for context. |
| Children and minors | Extra privacy review; no unnecessary school, address or family details. |
| Crime or investigation | Use official law-enforcement or court links only; no speculation or accusation beyond the source. |
| Family members | Use only names stated in public obituary/funeral source or family submission. |
| Photos | No reuse unless properly licensed, embedded from the source, or submitted with permission. |
Practical Guide Requirement
Every major guide should answer the reader’s next question: Where is the official obituary? Which funeral home is handling services? How can someone request a death certificate? What official site should a family use for Social Security, VA burial benefits or funeral price rights?
Where an official source exists, it should be linked before commercial, social, scraped or user-generated sources.
Corrections, Updates and Removals
We correct factual errors as quickly as practical after review. Close family members can request sensitive-detail minimization or removal review. We may keep non-sensitive public-record context where there is a strong public interest, but we will not publish private allegations, personal attacks or unsupported details.