1. Our purpose
Puthiya Kural (புதிய குரல் — “New Voice”) exists to inform, connect and serve the Tamil-speaking community in Canada. Our readers come from Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Tamil communities around the world, and they hold many different views. These guidelines help us keep every Puthiya Kural space respectful, safe and useful for everyone.
2. Where these guidelines apply
These guidelines apply whenever you take part in a space run by Puthiya Kural Newspaper Publications, Puthiya Kural Organization or New Voice Canada, including:
- Comments on our website and articles;
- Our social media pages, groups and channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp and others);
- Letters to the editor, opinion pieces, photos and other submissions;
- Community notices, greetings and announcements; and
- Events and programmes we organize or co-host.
3. Core principles
- Be respectful, even when you disagree.
- Stay on topic and add something useful.
- Share facts and say where they come from.
- Respect people’s privacy and dignity.
- Remember that families, elders and young people read our pages.
- Insult, threaten or harass anyone.
- Post hate, discrimination or slurs.
- Spread rumours or content you know to be false.
- Share someone’s private information.
- Spam, advertise or post scams in comments.
4. What is not allowed
We will remove content, and may block users, that includes any of the following:
- Hate and discrimination — content attacking people based on race, ethnicity, caste, religion, language, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.
- Threats and harassment — threats of violence, intimidation, bullying, stalking or encouraging others to target a person.
- Defamation — false statements of fact that damage the reputation of a person, business or organization.
- Misinformation — content that is knowingly false or misleading, including doctored images, fake quotes and health or financial claims that could cause harm.
- Privacy violations — personal addresses, phone numbers, ID documents, or photos of people (especially children) shared without consent.
- Glorifying violence — content that celebrates or encourages violence or illegal activity.
- Sexual or graphic content — explicit, obscene or gratuitously graphic material.
- Spam and scams — unsolicited advertising, chain messages, fraudulent offers, phishing links or impersonation of Puthiya Kural or anyone else.
- Copyright infringement — posting others’ articles, photos, music or video without permission. See our Copyright & Licensing page.
- Unlawful content — anything that breaks Canadian law, including the Criminal Code and human rights legislation.
5. Letters, opinions & submissions
We welcome letters, opinion pieces, poems, stories, photos and event reports from the community. When you send us a submission:
- Include your full name, city and a phone number or email so we can verify it. We normally publish your name and city; we may withhold your name in exceptional circumstances.
- Send only work you created yourself, or have permission to share.
- Get consent from people who appear in your photos — and from a parent or guardian for anyone under 18.
- Opinion pieces should be clearly identified as opinion and should not contain personal attacks.
- We may edit for length, clarity, grammar, legal reasons and style. We will not change the meaning of your piece.
- Sending a submission does not guarantee publication. Editorial decisions are final.
Opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Puthiya Kural.
6. Community notices & greetings
Birthday, wedding, achievement, memorial (கண்ணீர் அஞ்சலி) and religious notices are an important part of our paper. To protect families, we may ask for confirmation from a close family member before publishing a memorial or death notice, and we will not publish notices that appear to be pranks, disputes or attempts to embarrass someone.
7. Tamil & English
You may take part in Tamil, English or both. The same standards apply in every language, including transliterated Tamil (Tanglish). Content in other languages may be removed if our moderators cannot review it.
8. How we moderate
Our editorial team reviews comments and submissions. Depending on how serious the issue is, we may:
- Hide or remove the content;
- Send a warning;
- Temporarily or permanently block the account from our pages; and
- Where there is a threat to safety or a possible crime, report it to the appropriate authorities.
Moderation decisions are made at Puthiya Kural’s discretion. If you believe we made a mistake, you can ask us to review it by contacting publication@puthiyakural.com.
9. Accuracy & corrections
We work hard to get things right. When we make a factual error, we correct it promptly and transparently. If you see something in our newspaper or website that you believe is inaccurate, please tell us with the article title, date and the details of the correction. Significant corrections are noted in the following edition and on the online article.
10. Report a concern
If you see something that breaks these guidelines, please let us know. Include a link or screenshot, the date and a short description.
Editorial & moderation: publication@puthiyakural.com
General enquiries: info@puthiyakural.ca
Phone: +1 (437) 886-9767
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.
We may update these guidelines from time to time. By taking part in our spaces you agree to follow the current version. See also our Terms of Use.