Community Standards

Find your community. Share your world.

Our mutual success requires all of us to adhere to an agreed-upon set of principles, standards, and guidelines. Our commitment to transparency informs our vigilance in fighting disinformation and misinformation. We reject inappropriate efforts by governments, advertisers, and other interested parties to influence our coverage. We eschew political and religious extremism and reject racism and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, age, color, caste, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental illness, disability, serious medical condition, socioeconomic className, or veteran status. We disclose and correct our mistakes.

These policies are part of the broader suite of policies governing your use of our platforms, including ourTerms of Use, andPrivacy Policy. Failure to comply with the guidelines listed here may result in disciplinary action including decreased distribution or removal from the platform. These policies and guidelines are non-exhaustive, and Zests reserves the right to remove content or profiles in its sole discretion at any time.

The Zests Principles:

Zests is a safe space where people come together to create a community and engage with credible and relevant information and to share their thoughts about it. We enforce our community standards on our platform to foster trust within our community. In doing so, we aim to help people deepen ties to their communities and foster a greater sense of belonging.

These principles are designed to help foster a healthy, safe environment of authenticity for the Zests community.

Accuracy

Zests believes the foundation of a healthy community is credible information. Zests takes the accuracy of the content on its platform very seriously and prohibits the publication of rumor, hearsay, or unverified information. This applies to all formats across written, video, audio, and still imagery.

Transparency

Integrity is imperative in establishing trust with our community. Zests expects users and community organizations to provide transparent information to the public about who controls, owns, or provides significant funding to their operations and expects outlets or individuals to retain editorial independence.

Accountability

Zests expects users, contributors, community organizers, and all users to be accountable for all of the information they publish, including what they re-publish, aggregate, quote, or embed.

Fairness

Zests believes in highlighting diverse voices, stories, opinions, and sources. We favor work that presents all relevant sides of a story and provides all necessary context. It is equally important that our contributors and partners do not draw false moral equivalencies where none exist.

Respectful discourse is the cornerstone of our communities. We seek to facilitate healthy debate within our community and showcase a variety of opinions in our editorial content. All comments must be rooted in fact, labeled clearly, and not be intended to cause harm to groups or individuals.

Safety

We believe in doing what's best for the communities we serve. We are an inclusive community for our neighbors to find credible information, share ideas and look out for one another. There is no place on the platform for hate speech or harassment. Zests seeks to minimize harm to communities by prohibiting discriminatory, defamatory, harassing, or derogatory language, especially behavior intended to threaten violence or incite violence or discrimination against an individual or a group based on race, ethnicity, age, color, caste, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental illness, disability, serious medical condition, socioeconomic className, or veteran status.

Shared Community Guidelines

Zests is a space where people come together to find credible and relevant information and share their thoughts on it. We aim to make this space safe and trustworthy so people can deepen their ties to their communities and foster a greater sense of belonging. The following guidelines were developed to help foster an authentic, healthy and safe environment for Zests users.

We expect all content posted to Zests to adhere to the following content policies. The examples below are illustrative and are not all-inclusive. Although your activity may not violate one policy, when called to our attention, we apply all of our policies to make a decision. Content and activity restrictions may apply to all content, including but not limited to imagery, video, text, graphic description, links to other sites or apps, comments, profiles, and embedded content.

Publishers and contributors must also adhere to the guidelines for their content categories. If we become aware that have you posted content that goes against these Guidelines, we'll remove it and give you a violation. In some situations, such as if someone were to upload child sexual exploitation content on Zests, we will disable your account after just one occurrence. If you receive multiple violations, Zests may take further action, including disabling your account. We do not allow:

• Hateful Behavior
• Violent Extremism
• Promotion of Illegal Activity and Regulated Goods
• Incitement of Violence
• Fraudulent Behavior
• Promotion of Suicide, Self-harm, and Eating Disorders
• Harassment and Bullying
• Endangering Minors
• False or Misleading Content
• Promotion of Activity that Undermines Fair Elections
• Violent and Gory Content
• Nudity or Sexual Content
• Intellectual Property Violations
• Privacy Violations

Nothing in these guidelines is intended to prohibit journalistic coverage of newsworthy events, or fact-based and informed analysis, commentary, or opinion of newsworthy events.

1. UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR

1. Hateful Behavior
   Zests is a diverse and inclusive community and we have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind. We do not allow content with discriminatory, defamatory, or derogatory language, especially that which is intended to threaten or incite violence or discriminate against an individual or a group based on race, ethnicity, age, color, caste, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental illness, disability, serious medical condition, socioeconomic className, or veteran status.
   
   We do not allow glorification or promotion of hate groups or the symbols and imagery associated with such movements, as cataloged by reputable organizations.
   
   This policy is not intended to prohibit editorial coverage of newsworthy incidents involving subjects covered in the below as long as it includes relevant context.
   

   We do not permit content that:

   • Mocks, shames, insults, uses excessive profanity, expresses contempt or disgust and abuses an individual or a group based on one or more attributes noted above.
   • Promotes hateful ideologies. These ideologies show hostility towards people because of their protected attributes and go against the inclusivity that we strive towards. This includes content with symbols, logos, slogans, imagery such as flags or t-shirts, salutes or other artwork, and objects related to a hateful ideology.
   • Denies documented violent events targeting protected groups (eg: Holocaust denial) and other conspiracy theories with the intent to justify hateful ideologies
   • Promotes or glorifies hate groups and individuals as identified by reputable organizations.
   • Claims one group is superior to another while referencing protected attributes.
   • When identified as such, purposely misgenders or deadnames an individual.
   • Contains inflammatory religious commentary with the intent to incite violent responses from the reader.

2. 2. CRIMINAL AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR

   Violent Extremism
   Zests does not tolerate individuals or groups that engage in, promote, or glorify violent or extremist behavior.
   
   Terrorists and related organizations are not permitted to use Zests for any reason, including recruitment. Content that encourages, glorifies, or promotes terrorism, such as content that praises terrorist acts or incites violence, is likewise absolutely prohibited on our platform. Content shared in editorial coverage of newsworthy events that do not promote terrorism, and where clear context is established, is allowed. Content shared in an educational, documentary, scientific, or creative setting which establishes clear context is allowed.
   

   We do not permit content that:

   • Glorifies, praises or memorializes terrorist organizations or terrorists, criminal organizations or criminals as identified by reputable organizations
   • Advocates or justifies terrorist or criminal activities
   • Is produced by the above criminal or terrorist organizations
   • Depicts key imagery that symbolizes terrorist organizations for the purpose of praising them
   • Intends to radicalize or recruit individuals to join criminal or violent extremist groups
   Promotion of Illegal Activity and Regulated Goods
   Zests does not allow content that engages in or promotes illegal activity or facilitates exchanges of regulated or unlawful goods and services.
   
   While we allow editorial coverage of newsworthy events, content that could directly facilitate or promote illegal activities is not permitted. The following list is non-exhaustive, and when alerted to other illegal activity by properly verified authorities, Zests will remove such content.
   

   We do not permit content that:

   • Glorifies or promotes any organization or gang that engages in criminal activities, violent criminal behavior, human trafficking, or any criminal activity, as documented by reputable authorities.
   • Provides instructions on how to perform activities meant to kill or harm, for example, how to build a bomb.
   • Promotes or facilitates human trafficking.
   • Displays the use of hard drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamines, with the exception of editorial coverage of newsworthy events.
   • Note that coverage of cannabis use, or the cannabis industry, is acceptable in jurisdictions where medicinal or recreational cannabis use has been legalized or is being considered
   • Explains how to make illegal substances or items.
   • Exploits others through extortion
   • Contains any promotion for the sales of the following:
   • Alcohol and Tobacco products (including vaporizers, electronic cigarettes) with the exception of a brand presence in the form of legitimate brick-and-mortar companies, such as retail businesses, websites, or brands
   • Illegal drugs or unapproved pharmaceuticals
   • Supplements not approved by the FDA
   • Illegal Gambling or betting with exceptions for promotion of physical real-money gambling activity or establishments, fantasy sports and online sports betting, where legal.
   • Weapons, ammunition, or explosives
   • Adult products or services
   • Payday loans, paycheck advances, or penny auctions
   • Multi-level marketing schemes or prohibited financial services
   • Any form of hacking or cracking and/or provides users with instructions, equipment, or software that tampers with or provides unauthorized access to devices, software, servers, or websites, including but not limited to spyware or malware
   • Counterfeit products
   • Trafficking or hunting of endangered or threatened species
   • Human trafficking of any kind including the facilitation of marriage to a foreigner, e.g., "mail order brides"

3. Incitement of Violence
   We aim to prevent offline harm potentially related to content on Zests. Although we celebrate freedom of expression and understand it's common to show disagreement with hyperbolic speech, we remove content and disable accounts when we see a real risk of physical harm or credible threats to the public's safety.

We do not permit content that:

• Threats to kill someone or a group
• Threats of sexual assault
• Threats to hurt others, or commit a violent act that could lead to people's injury or death
• Statements advocating violence
• Requests or otherwise inciting violence when there is a target (clear or not)
• Credible threats include stating the intention to inflict violence on specific people or groups, either via direct statement ("I will", "I plan to") or via conditional statements ("If you X, I'll Y") will also be removed.
4. Fraudulent Behavior
   Zests removes content that actively deceives, knowingly misrepresents, or similarly defrauds or exploits the community for property, money or other advantages. This includes any activity utilizing Zests to coordinate or promote such activities and behavior. We allow for counterspeech and warning or condemning these behaviors as long as other policies are not violated.

We do not permit content that:

• Provides instructions on how to cheat or promote dishonest behaviors, such as how to steal goods, how to bypass paywalls, how to hack into social media accounts, how to use bots to exploit systems in an unethical or illegal manner, stream sniping
• Product or reward scams, such as fake benefits, insurance, spiritual, credit or debt relief, and employment scams.
• Promotes fake identities, such as romance, charity, or fake business scams.
Financial scams include loans, advance fees, high-return investments, cash gifts, multilevel marketing, and "get rich quick" scams ( e.g. Ponzi or pyramid schemes).
• Credible threats include stating the intention to inflict violence on specific people or groups, either via direct statement ("I will", "I plan to") or via conditional statements ("If you X, I'll Y") will also be removed.

3. SAFETY

1. Promotion of Suicide, Self-harm, and Eating Disorders
   Zests cares about its communities and their wellness. While we support members of our community in sharing their personal experiences with these issues in a safe way to raise awareness and find community support, we do not allow the promotion of any content that encourages self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, or drug abuse.
   

   We do not permit content that:

   • Promotes or glorifies, normalizes, or includes instructions on suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders in any way.
   • Glorifies, normalizes, or otherwise promotes harmful weight loss habits associated with eating disorders.
   • Glorifies, normalizes, or otherwise promotes the use of illegal drugs or misuse of prescription drugs.
2. Harassment and Bullying
   Everyone has the right to use Zests free of harassment, bullying, or the threat of violence. Content that targets individuals with harassment or bullying is not permitted. We also don't allow content that makes repeated or malicious comments against one's inherent characteristics. These inherent characteristics include protected group status, physical characteristics, or one's status as a survivor of exploitation of non-consensual intimate imagery, sexual assault, and domestic abuse to name a few.
   

   We do not permit content that:

   • Sexually harasses a target. Examples include attempts to make unwanted sexual contact, disparaging another's sexual activity, simulating sexual activity with another, threatening to reveal one's sexual history and non-consensual exposure of one's sexual orientation.
   • Threatens or contains derogatory words, excessive profanities or obscenities intended to mock, humiliate, intimidate,
   • Threatens an individual with malicious or prolonged insults.
   • Threatens to release or releases ("doxxing") another's personal information, such as their home address, without their permission.
   • Is posted to provoke or antagonize people, such as "trolling."
   • Contains language intended to shame, insult, or deride physical attributes.
   • Exploits or extorts others. Examples are Revenge porn, blackmail or content removals on Zests with exploitative intent.
   • Incites others to harass or bully a clear target.
   While we allow critical comments directed toward public figures to allow for expression on subjects of newsworthiness and public concern, major abusive attacks against public figures are prohibited.
3. Endangering Minors
   Zests is for users aged 13 and above. We do not allow content that potentially places minors at risk, exploits them, or portrays them in a negative or harmful manner physically or psychologically. This includes animated, implied, or dramatized situations. In order to protect this more vulnerable group, we have even more strict guidelines where relevant. In most cases, those that violate these rules will immediately be removed from the platform upon discovery.
   

   We do not permit content that:

   • Contains graphic details, pictures or videos of sexual abuse, murder, assault, abuse, or any violent acts involving minors (0-18 years old)
   • Sexualizes a minor or someone who appears to be a minor (animated, implied, or dramatized)
   • Promotes minors participating in dangerous activities, for example, playing with fire, explosives, knives, weapons, etc
   • Threatens, depicts, praises, supports, provides instructions for or material that sexually exploits minors
   • Contains inappropriate interactions with minors such as grooming behavior or planning to meet in real life; soliciting sexual material, such as conversations or language from minors.
   • Is primarily directed at children (under age 13)
   If you find any child sexual abuse or exploitative material, report it to compliance@Zests.com. If you believe a child is in danger, contact law enforcement immediately.

4. INTEGRITY AND AUTHENTICITY

False or Misleading Content

Zests is not a place for misinformation or disinformation. We want all information on Zests to be credible and thus we prohibit the distribution of false or misleading content that may harm our users or the public's well-being, safety, or trust.

We do not permit:

Misinformation and Disinformation

• Unsupported and unsubstantiated claims are presented as fact.
• Unsubstantiated accusations of illegal or unethical behavior about individuals, groups, or businesses, including content that presumes guilt, or implies a presumption of guilt, of people who have been arrested or are on trial for crimes.
• Promotion of conspiracy theories that may result in real-world harm
• Unproven rumors likely to result in impending violence or physical harm to the community. These are claims that are hard or impossible to trace, no authoritative sources exist and are not specific enough to be contradicted. Content that falsely implies having an affiliation with, or endorsement by, another individual, organization, product, or service
• Manipulated and synthetic media. Including media that is significantly and deceptively altered, fabricated, or manipulated and shared either deceptively or with misleading context. Engagement in coordinated inauthentic behavior, such as the collaborative use of fake accounts to mislead others into thinking the behavior is authentic.
• Misleading quotations of religious texts

Impersonation

• Accounts and articles in which the author pretends to be another person, brand, or organization to confuse or deceive others may be permanently suspended.
• Claims or quotes attributed to an individual without citation, quotation, or other appropriately explained sourcing.

Endangering Public Health

We do not permit content that:

• Claims that substances or treatments can have health benefits without citing any reputable medical journals or studies
• Promotes the consumption or insertion of inedible objects that have no legitimate medical purpose
• Contains non-expert health claims that risk public health and safety, such as the promotion of false cures or anti-vaccination advice
• Presents scientific, medical, or health-related information without proper context as to the nature of the research behind the claim. Proper context includes clearly stating the institution behind any study, the methods used, and the status of the study.
• Presents scientific, medical, or health-related information in a style that exaggerates the claim, does not provide the proper context in the headline by withholding key information or is otherwise intended to produce an outsized emotional reaction with the intention of generating clicks.

Spam

Spam is content intended to deceive or mislead users to increase viewership. This creates a negative user experience and deters their authentic engagement. Any misuse of Zests product features to disrupt users' experience is prohibited.

We do not permit content that:

• Over-frequent or massive posts, shares, and other engagements, content or accounts either automatically or at high frequencies to increase viewership, manipulate ranking, or distribute content in large numbers for gain.
• Selling or exchanging on-site accounts or account permissions on Zests.
• Requiring engagement (liking or sharing) as a prerequisite to gaining access to more content.
• Encouraging engagement in exchange for false promises.
• Deceptive use of engagement features on Zests in order to improve one's rank
• Offers for off-platform goods/services disguised as community comments.

5. PROMOTION OF ACTIVITY THAT UNDERMINES FAIR ELECTIONS

Zests does not allow any content that incites interference with democratic processes or provides false or misleading information about elections or the democratic processes.

We do not permit:

• Encouraging voters to misrepresent themselves or illegally participate in elections.
• Calling for violence to prevent a peaceful transfer of power or orderly succession.
• Unsubstantiated claims that call into question an election's integrity.
• Any information designed to impede an individual's or group's civic participation.
• False or misleading claims about the results of an election that could lead to interference with the election process or vote-counting process.

6. SENSITIVE CONTENT

1. Violent and Gory Content
   We want to prevent potential harm that can be related to content on Zests. Because of this, we prohibit content that glorifies or incites violent acts that could encourage our audience to replicate similar behaviors. We also do not allow violent, gruesome, or gory content where the sole intention is to shock or disgust our audience and has no inherent news value.
   
   Where there is news value, Zests prioritizes coverage that properly discloses the graphic nature of the footage, imagery, or descriptions to the users, and avoids placing graphic footage or imagery of violent acts, or weapons pointed directly at the user, before any such warnings.
   

   We do not permit content that:

   • Glorification of any criminal or terrorist organizations that engage in violence (including attempted violence)
   • The video, still imagery, or graphic descriptions of violent crimes that resulted in death or physical injury, such as homicides, shootings, attacks, robberies, street fights, sexual assaults, or torture, in which weapons, violence, or injured victims are visible, except when the details of the incident are newsworthy
   • Content featuring natural disasters, war aftermath, immolation, protests or riots, or other such scenarios where the intent of the content is to exploit, shock or disgust, as opposed to editorial coverage of newsworthy events.
   • The footage, imagery, or graphic descriptions of the human body that are intended to disgust or shock, including corpses or severed body parts, gratuitous bodily fluids, medical procedure footage, imagery of open wounds, or exploitative display of medical conditions. Exceptions are made for editorial coverage of newsworthy events.
   • Content depicting animal abuse, cruelty, or violence, where the intent is to glorify, promote, or shock as opposed to editorial coverage of newsworthy events.
2. Nudity or Sexual Content
   
   

   We do not permit content that:

   • Exposed female breasts, nipples, buttocks, or genitalia and exposed male buttocks or genitalia. This includes minimal coverage of the above, where the imagery is not in context such as beach, pool, red carpet, or performance.
   • Footage or imagery of inanimate sexual objects (e.g, sex toys, replicas of sex organs, etc,).
   • The footage, imagery, or graphic description of sexual intercourse, genital or anal stimulation, or other by-products of sexual activity, including illustrated, simulated, and animated.
   • Celebrity or personal sexual life or history that is not consensually provided by the celebrity or individual.
   • Disrobing or other sexual behavior or depiction intended to arouse the consumer.
   • Content that promotes or provides links to porn, adult, or x-rated sites.
   • Nudity in photos, paintings, and sculptures, where the focal point of the imagery is on genitalia.
   • Content that in any way promotes or facilitates human trafficking or compensated sexual acts.
   • Explicit or implicit sexual solicitation for sex, sexual partners, sex chats or sexual imagery.
   We prioritize a safe and inclusive environment, but exceptions called "EDSA" (Educational, Documentary, Scientific and Art) allow certain content that would typically violate our policies. We assess factors like titles, descriptions, and context to determine EDSA eligibility. Examples include educational anti-bullying campaigns, historical documentaries, artistic expression in comedy, and nudity for scientific or artistic value. EDSA exceptions require clear intent within the content itself and do not apply to sensitive or harmful content.

7. CONTENT RIGHTS

1. Intellectual Property
   Zests treats intellectual property rights in earnest; they are the backbone of allowing the community to creatively express themselves. When posting on Zests, confirm you have the right to do so. We do not allow the improper use of intellectual property and upon processing a report from the rights holder or authorized representative, we remove the following:
   • Anything that infringes another's intellectual property, including copyright, patent, trade secret, rights of publicity, or trademark rights.
   • Copyright infringement (including plagiarism, music, unlicensed imagery, etc)
   • Trademark infringement
   • Other legal intellectual property rights
   • All imagery must be credited
   If someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can send in a complete written notification to our designated Copyright Agent as described in ourTerms of Use.
2. Privacy
   ‍Privacy and the protection of personal information are key in allowing our community to feel safe. Zests may remove content including but not limited to, violations of applicable privacy laws or our Privacy Policy when receiving proper notice at feedback@zests.ai. Please note that this email address is reserved for people reporting potential violations of their privacy concerning their image on Zests.
   
   If you report that someone has posted your personal information or uploaded content of you without your knowledge and consent, we will investigate. Zests also prohibits the publication of non-public personal information, such as the phone number or address of an individual, unless the approval has been obtained from said individual. We take down content that: shares, offers, or solicits personally identifiable information or other private information that could lead to bodily or financial harm. Examples are financial, residential, or medical information, and private information obtained illegally. As private information may be made public through news coverage, court filings, and press releases, we may allow for this use.

   We do not permit content containing:

   • Government-issued numbers such as national ID numbers. Examples include Social Security numbers, passport numbers, and government IDs.
   • Personal information that identifies an individual with an ID number and individual's name. These include civil registry information like marriage certificates, driver's licenses, and immigration documents.
   • Digital IDs. These include email addresses with passwords and standalone passwords that allow further access to information or those with digital IDs.
   • Medical information that contains psychological, physical or genetic, or biometric details of another.
   • Personal contact information such as addresses and phone numbers unless volunteered in certain cases by the owner.
   • Residential information, including images of one's private home combined with GPS coordinates, or further identifying the resident of said home.
   • Revealing safe house addresses or identifiable information of the home or residents.
   • Financial information like personal bank statements, account numbers, or credit card information with PINs or validity information.
   • Business financial information unless self-shared by the business or is publicly available.