Editorial Standards

Unfolde publishes stories about the moments that change things — a will that named the wrong person, a manager who took the credit, a family dinner nobody recovered from. These are emotional stories, and emotional stories only work if the reader can trust the person telling them.

This page sets out how we work, so you always know what you are reading.

1. The two kinds of stories we publish

Every story on Unfolde is one of exactly two things, and every story says which at the top.

FICTION

Original short fiction, written for Unfolde. The people, families, employers and events are invented. Any resemblance to a real person or event is coincidental. This is most of what we publish.

READER STORY

Based on an experience a reader sent us, published with their permission and with every identifying detail changed. The emotional truth is theirs. The names, places and specifics are not.

We do not blur these two categories, and we do not use vague language like “inspired by real events” to make invented stories feel more authentic. A reader who finishes a story believing it happened to a real person, and later discovers we made it up, has been misled — and we would rather keep the reader than the extra click.

2. How we handle reader submissions

When someone trusts us with something that actually happened to them, these are our commitments.

  • We change every identifying detail. Names, employers, job titles, cities, schools, dates and any distinguishing circumstance — for every person in the story, not only the person who sent it.
  • We publish anonymously by default. No name or byline unless the sender specifically asks for one.
  • We protect people who did not consent. A submitter can consent to sharing their own experience. They cannot consent for the sibling, ex-partner or manager in it. If a story cannot be anonymized without destroying it, we do not run it.
  • We edit for length, structure and clarity — never for outcome. We will tighten a story. We will not change what happened, invent a more satisfying ending, or sharpen a villain.
  • We take it down on request. If a contributor asks us to remove their published story, we do, without argument.
  • We accept submissions only from adults. 18 and over.

3. What we will never publish

  • Stories about real, named people, or about identifiable real employers or organizations.
  • Anything sexual involving minors, or content that sexualizes, endangers or exploits a child in any way.
  • Physical violence or physical revenge. The consequences in our stories are legal and social ones — documentation, boundaries, walking away, letting the truth arrive on its own.
  • Content copied or rewritten from Reddit, forums, other publications or another writer’s work. Our fiction is written from scratch, and our reader stories come directly from the people who lived them.
  • Party politics, or content designed to inflame a political divide.
  • True crime, or coverage of real criminal cases and their victims.
  • Headlines built on outrage, shock or misdirection. If a headline promises something the story does not deliver, it does not run.

4. Our articles on real subjects

Alongside the stories, we publish practical articles — how to set a boundary with a difficult parent, what a no-contest clause means, what to do when a coworker takes the credit.

For these we use reputable, current sources, and we say plainly when something varies by state or by situation. We update articles when the underlying facts change.

These articles are general information, not professional advice. We are not attorneys, financial advisors or medical professionals. Before you act on anything involving a will, an estate, a divorce, your job, your debts or your health, speak to someone qualified and licensed in your state.

5. How we use AI

We use AI tools in our production process — as a drafting assistant, and to generate the atmospheric photography that accompanies stories. We think readers deserve to know that plainly rather than find it out.

What that does not change:

  • Every story is read, edited and approved by a person before it publishes.
  • Every reader submission is handled and anonymized by a person.
  • Nothing is published that was scraped, copied or rewritten from someone else’s work.
  • Our images never depict identifiable real people.

6. Corrections

We get things wrong sometimes. When we do, we fix it visibly rather than quietly.

  • Factual errors in our articles are corrected, with a dated note at the foot of the page explaining what changed.
  • If a reader story was published with a detail that should have been changed, we amend it immediately.
  • We do not silently delete a page to make a mistake disappear.

7. Advertising and independence

Unfolde is funded by advertising. Advertisers have no say in what we publish, no advance sight of our stories, and no influence over our editorial decisions. Ads are clearly distinguishable from stories. We do not publish sponsored content dressed up as a story.

8. Reader privacy

We do not publish, sell or share the personal details of anyone who writes to us or subscribes to our newsletter. Submission emails are kept confidential and are not passed to third parties.

9. Talk to us

If a story crossed a line, if you recognize yourself in something we published, if you have spotted an error, or if you want a submission removed — write to us and a person will read it.