AI-generated content must be independently verified before publication. This tool does NOT perform journalistic fact-checking. AI can and does fabricate facts, misattribute quotes, invent sources, and produce flawed analysis. Publishing unverified AI output may constitute defamation or spread misinformation. This is not a substitute for professional journalism. You are solely responsible for everything you publish.
By downloading, copying, or using these prompts and templates ("the Toolkit"), you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the Toolkit.
Civic Newsroom is a free, open-source collection of AI prompts, editorial protocols, and templates designed to help community members analyze public government records and produce civic reporting. It consists of a nine-agent editorial pipeline covering news aggregation, story expansion, adversarial verification, integrity checking, legal guidance, plain-language translation, source integrity, and standalone research. Civic Newsroom is an editorial toolkit — it is not a news organization, not a journalism credential, and not a substitute for professional reporting.
Civic Newsroom is released under the MIT License.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
The Toolkit is provided without any warranty. The authors make no guarantees that:
You are solely responsible for all content you publish using this Toolkit.
AI language models can fabricate facts, misattribute statements, invent quotes, and mischaracterize public officials' positions. Publishing such fabrications may expose you to defamation claims. The Toolkit's integrity checking and adversarial verification agents reduce but do not eliminate this risk. You must independently verify every factual claim, attribution, and quote before publication.
AI models synthesize information from their training data, which includes published journalism. The Toolkit includes anti-plagiarism protocols (Civic Grounding Protocol) and mandatory journalism credits, but no automated system can guarantee that AI output does not inadvertently reproduce or closely paraphrase another outlet's original reporting.
AI models can and do produce outputs that appear authoritative but contain fabricated information, including:
Using this Toolkit does not make you a journalist, does not confer press credentials, and does not grant any legal privileges associated with professional journalism (such as shield law protections for sources). Consult a lawyer if you have questions about your rights and obligations when publishing civic information.
The First Amendment Counsel agent (Prompt 06) provides general information about press freedom, public records access, and defamation law. It does NOT constitute legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with a licensed attorney.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the authors and contributors shall not be liable for any:
This limitation applies regardless of the theory of liability.
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the authors and contributors from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from your use of the Toolkit, including but not limited to claims related to published content, defamation, plagiarism, or misrepresentation.
Nothing produced by the Toolkit constitutes professional advice of any kind — including but not limited to legal, journalistic, editorial, or public relations advice. The output is intended to assist community members in analyzing publicly available government records. Always verify information independently and consult qualified professionals when needed.
The Toolkit is intended for users aged 18 and older.
These terms may be updated with new releases. Continued use after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Colorado, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Colorado.
© 2026 Scott Converse. Civic Newsroom is released under the MIT License.