GoMovies Editorial Policy

Our Editorial Mission

GoMovies exists to help people decide what to watch next. The catalogue does the finding; the editorial side does the telling: honest reviews, plain-language news, and guides that answer the question a reader actually typed. Every piece we publish has to be more useful than the search result the reader would have landed on otherwise. If it is not, it does not run.

We are independent. No studio, streaming service, distributor or advertiser sees a review before it is published, and none of them can change a verdict. Ratings reflect what the writer saw, not what a marketing calendar would prefer.

What GoMovies Publishes

Alongside the movie and TV catalogue, the GoMovies editorial section covers the following. Each type has its own bar, described in the sections below.

What We Accept From Contributors

GoMovies accepts submissions from readers, freelance writers and industry contacts. We are open to good work from anyone, but we are selective, and everything goes through the same editing process as staff-written pieces. Here is what we welcome and what we turn away.

Content Guidelines Every Article Must Meet

These rules apply to staff and contributors alike. An editor checks each one before publication. If a draft fails any of them it is sent back, not fixed quietly and pushed out.

Written for a Person, Not a Search Engine

Every article answers a real question a reader has and answers it early. We do not pad, repeat the keyword, or write four introductions before getting to the point. Headings tell the reader what the section contains. Length is whatever the subject needs and no more.

Original Work

Articles are written from scratch. Quotations are short, attributed and in quotation marks. We run submissions through plagiarism checks, and a rejected piece for copied text is not reconsidered.

Accurate and Dated

Release dates, running times, cast lists, prices and platform availability are checked against a primary source before publication and the article carries a visible published or updated date. Anything that can change (a streaming window, a price) is checked again when the article is updated.

Clear About Spoilers

Reviews stay spoiler-free above a clearly marked line. Anything that reveals a twist, an ending or a death goes below a spoiler warning that the reader has to scroll past on purpose. Explainers about endings say so in the title.

Fair to the Work and the People Behind It

Criticism is aimed at the film, the show or the product, and it is specific: what did not work and why. We do not write about actors' or directors' personal lives unless it is directly relevant to the work and already on the public record.

Safe for Every Reader

No hate speech, harassment, sexual content involving minors, or content that promotes self-harm, violence or illegal activity. Adult themes in a film are discussed as a critic would; they are not reproduced for their own sake.

How We Write Movie and TV Reviews

A review on GoMovies is a considered opinion backed by evidence from the screen. It follows the same shape whether it is a blockbuster or a small streaming release.

• Watched in full. The reviewer has seen the entire film or the entire season under review. Trailer reactions are labelled as such and are not reviews.
• Verdict first, reasons after. The reader gets the answer in the opening lines, then the argument, then the details.
• Specific, not vague. "The second act drags" is not enough; the review says which scenes, and why they stall.
• Who it is for. Every review ends with who will enjoy the title and who should skip it.
• Where to watch. Platform availability is stated as of the published date.

Our Rating Scale

Ratings are on a five-star scale. A star rating never replaces the written review; it summarises it.

Product Reviews

Streaming devices, TVs, soundbars, projectors and apps are reviewed only after firsthand use. The review states how long the product was used, how it was tested, and what it was compared against. Review units supplied by a manufacturer are disclosed in the article; they do not change the verdict, and they are returned or kept according to the manufacturer's terms, which we state. Where a product is compared with alternatives, we name them and say which is better for which reader.

Google Policies We Follow

GoMovies content is written to comply with Google Search's published guidance. We follow these because they describe good publishing, not only because they affect ranking. In summary:

1. Google Search Essentials and Spam Policies

   No cloaking, hidden text, doorway pages, keyword stuffing, link schemes, scraped or auto-generated filler, thin affiliate pages, or expired-domain abuse. Every page is a page a person would want to read.

2. Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content

   Articles are made for readers first: they show real experience with the subject, answer the query directly, and would leave a reader feeling they learned enough to decide. We do not publish on topics purely because they are trending if we have nothing to add.

3. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust (E-E-A-T)

   Reviews are written by people who watched the film or used the product. Author bylines carry a short bio. Claims are sourced. This policy page, our contact details and our correction process are public so readers can judge our trustworthiness for themselves.

4. Review System Guidelines

   Product and media reviews are evaluated from a user's perspective, show evidence of firsthand experience, cover both strengths and drawbacks, explain how the item compares with alternatives, and are written by someone who knows the subject, as Google's reviews guidance describes.

5. Site Reputation and Third-Party Content

   Contributor and partner content is held to the same standards as staff content and is never published to trade on the site's reputation. We do not host third-party pages that we would not have written ourselves.

6. Link Guidelines

   Editorial links point to sources a reader benefits from. Paid, affiliate and sponsored links carry rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". We do not buy, sell or exchange links.

7. Structured Data and Metadata

   Review, article and FAQ structured data on GoMovies describes only what is visible on the page. Titles and descriptions match the content. We do not mark up ratings or reviews that do not exist on the page.

Our Position on AI-Assisted Content

Google's guidance is that content is judged on whether it is helpful and reliable, not on how it was produced. Our rule is stricter than that. No review, verdict or rating on GoMovies is generated by AI, because a review is an account of watching something, and software has not watched it.

Writers may use AI tools for research prompts, grammar checks, summarising public press materials or drafting structure, in the same way they use a spell checker or a search engine. Every fact still has to be verified against a source, and every published sentence is the responsibility of the named author. We do not publish AI-generated articles at scale, and any submission that reads as unedited machine output is declined.

Sourcing, Fact-Checking and Attribution

What Counts as a Source

For news, a primary source is an official announcement from the studio, network, platform or the people involved, or a report from an established trade outlet. Social media posts are used only when they come from a verified official account. Anonymous tips are followed up, never published on their own.

How We Check

Every factual claim in a draft is traced to its source by the editor before publication. Dates, names, titles and numbers are checked against at least one primary source. Where sources disagree, the article says so.

How We Credit

Reporting first published elsewhere is credited and linked. Quotations are attributed to the person and the setting (interview, press conference, official statement). We do not present another outlet's work as our own.

Title and Catalogue Data

Posters, summaries, release dates and cast information in the GoMovies catalogue come from public APIs such as TMDb. Editorial articles may draw on the same data but verify it independently where it matters to the story.

Corrections and Updates

We make mistakes and we fix them in the open. A corrected article carries a note saying what was wrong and when it was changed. We do not delete errors quietly.

To report an error, email editorial@gomoviesn.com with the article URL and the correction. We aim to respond within three working days.

Advertising, Affiliate and Sponsorship Disclosure

GoMovies is free to use. Running it costs money, and that money comes from advertising and, in some articles, affiliate links. Here is how each one is handled.

Advertising

Ads are kept to a minimum, are visually separate from editorial content and are never placed over the video player. Advertisers have no input into what we write. A page is never created to carry an ad.

Affiliate Links

Some product articles include links to retailers. If you buy through one, GoMovies may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links are marked with rel="sponsored", the article says at the top that it contains them, and they never influence which product we recommend.

Sponsored Content

If a piece is paid for by a partner, it is labelled "Sponsored" at the top, in the byline and in the page markup, and it is written to the same accuracy standards as everything else. Sponsored content is never a review.

Review Units and Screenings

Press screenings and loaned review units are accepted so that we can cover titles and products on release. They are disclosed in the article and do not affect verdicts.

Copyright, Images and Takedown Requests

Text on GoMovies is our own or our contributors', used with permission. Posters, stills and trailers are used under the usual conditions for editorial coverage of the work they depict, and are credited to the studio or distributor. Contributors confirm they own or have the right to use anything they submit.

If you are a rights holder and believe material on gomoviesn.com infringes your copyright, email editorial@gomoviesn.com with the URL, a description of the work, and your contact details. Valid requests are actioned promptly. GoMovies does not store or host video files on its own servers; requests about streams should identify the specific page so we can review the embed.

How to Submit a Review, Idea or News Tip

Send everything to editorial@gomoviesn.com. Put the type of submission in the subject line so it reaches the right editor.

1. Movie or TV Review

   Subject: Review: [Title] ([Year]). Send the full draft (600 to 1,200 words), your proposed star rating, where you watched it, and a two-line bio. Spoilers below a marked line only.

2. Story Idea or Pitch

   Subject: Pitch: [Working title]. Three or four sentences: what the piece is, why now, why you, and roughly how long. Do not send the full article until an editor says yes.

3. News Tip

   Subject: News: [Topic]. Give us the source link or document. We verify before publishing and can keep you anonymous if you ask.

4. Product Review or Product News

   Subject: Product: [Product name]. For reviews, state how long you have used it and whether it was supplied by the maker. For product news from brands, send the press release and embargo date.

5. What Happens Next

   An editor replies within seven working days. Accepted pieces are edited for clarity, fact-checked and scheduled; you see the edited version before it goes live. Declined pieces get a short reason. We cannot offer detailed feedback on every submission.

Contact the Editorial Team