The Cici Standard

How we know what we know.

Trust is the only durable advantage a small magazine has. These are the rules we publish, audit against, and correct in public when we fall short.

Last reviewed: November 2026

1. Every piece carries an evidence label.

The label appears in the piece and in our content system. It tells you how the article knows what it knows, before you invest time in it. Older pieces that predate this standard are labeled Archive until they are refreshed.

tested

We or our publisher used the product for the stated period.

A score, test duration, what worked, what did not, and the price paid. The publisher supplies the notes; the desk never invents them.

sourced

The claims trace to primary sources we cite.

At least two sources: a regulator, a peer-reviewed abstract, a brand filing, or an official size or ingredient chart. Linked in the piece.

derived

Original analysis of our own color, fit, or cost data.

The dataset or method is described, the comparison is reproducible, and the limits are stated.

experience

A first-person account from a named human.

Published only with the person’s own notes and consent. Never generated.

editorial

Original CiciTrends guidance, written by our editorial desk.

An owned thesis and a usable rule, argued from proportion, color, texture, ingredient science, or real-world practice. Outbound links support specific facts; they never replace our judgment.

The hard rule: we do not publish a product verdict without the publisher’s real testing notes. An AI desk cannot buy, wear, wash, or return a product, so it cannot pretend to have done so.

2. Claims trace to primary sources.

• Regulators, peer-reviewed abstracts, official brand filings, and size or ingredient charts come before secondary coverage.
• A piece with a factual claim that could mislead carries at least two sources and names the exact claim each supports.
• We distinguish correlation from causation, and we say when the evidence is thin.
• Health and beauty content is educational. It is not medical advice, and we say so where it matters.
• We do not cite a source we have not opened.

3. AI assistance is disclosed, not hidden.

CiciTrends is produced by an AI-assisted editorial desk under human direction. Research, drafting, image generation, social packaging, and scheduling are agentic. A human publisher sets the strategy and owns the standards.

What the desk does

• Scan public trend feeds and propose briefs
• Draft and structure sourced articles
• Generate prompts, illustrations, and social cards
• Package and schedule distribution

What it never does

• Invent testing, credentials, or personal experience
• Present a generated image as a real product photo
• Attribute an opinion to a human who did not say it
• Publish without the publisher’s direction

On the persona: Cici is the magazine’s editorial voice, not a fabricated human with invented degrees or family. The portrait on our About page is a brand image, not a photograph of a real editor.

4. Generated imagery is illustration.

• AI-generated images are used for mood, concept, and illustration. They are credited as illustrations.
• We never present a generated image as a photograph of a real product, a real person, or a real test.
• Product-specific pieces use the manufacturer’s image with credit, or an original photograph.
• Alt text describes the image; it is not a keyword field.
• We do not generate idealized bodies as the implicit standard. Casting is deliberately broad in age, skin tone, and size.

5. Commerce is disclosed above the fold.

• Any page with an affiliate or referral link says so before the first recommendation. The full policy is at /affiliate-disclosure/.
• Commission never determines inclusion, ranking, or score.
• We name the price we saw and the date we checked it.
• “Dupe” claims require a side-by-side comparison we actually did.
• We do not sell editorial placement, sponsored verdicts, or link insertions.

6. Corrections happen in public.

When we get something wrong, we fix it and add a dated note at the top or bottom of the piece describing what changed. We do not quietly rewrite history. If a correction changes the conclusion of a piece, we say that plainly.

To request a correction, email hello@cicitrends.com with the URL and the specific claim. We aim to respond within two business days.

7. Independence and access.

We accept press access and product samples only when we can say so. Samples do not guarantee coverage, a score, or a place in a guide. We do not accept payment for a mention. If a relationship could reasonably look like a conflict, we disclose it in the piece.

Hold us to it.

The standard is only real if readers can test it. Send corrections, source challenges, or a note about a piece that missed.

hello@cicitrends.com Contact the desk About CiciTrends