Last updated: 2026-06-22
BJJ Girls Mag is an independent communication and information portal specialized in women’s jiu-jitsu, with bilingual coverage in English at bjjgirlsmag.com and in Brazilian Portuguese at bjjgirlsmag.com.br. The publication was founded and is edited by Samanta Fonseca, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and digital communications professional with ten years of experience in journalism, editorial strategy, and online publishing.
This Editorial Policy describes the principles, sourcing standards, source protection commitments, and corrections process that govern our coverage. It is a public document and applies to every article, interview, video, podcast, and editorial product carrying the BJJ Girls Mag byline.
1. Editorial Mission
BJJ Girls Mag exists to inform, document, and represent women’s experience in jiu-jitsu. We cover competition, training, health, gear, business, governance, and culture. We also cover misconduct, abuse, and structural issues that affect women on the mats, work that we treat as serious investigative journalism, not entertainment.
2. Editorial Independence and Funding
BJJ Girls Mag is editorially independent. We do not have a parent company, a federation affiliation, or a sponsor with veto power over our coverage. The Service is funded through programmatic advertising, including Google AdSense and other ad networks, selected affiliate partnerships with jiu-jitsu and combat-sports brands, and occasional sponsored content that is clearly labeled. None of these revenue streams influence editorial selection, framing, or conclusions.
3. Reporting Standards and Fact-Checking
Every editorial claim of fact published by BJJ Girls Mag is required to be supported by documentary evidence, an on-the-record source, or, where confidentiality has been extended, a verified confidential source whose account is independently corroborated. We do not publish rumor, anonymous social-media posts taken in isolation, or unverified screenshots as standalone claims of fact.
Before publication of a story that names an individual or institution in the context of an allegation, our editorial team verifies the documentary record, corroborates the account through at least one independent source where possible, and offers the named party a substantive opportunity to respond. Manifestations received in response are reproduced in the published article, in full when length permits and in faithful summary when full reproduction is impractical, with a link to the complete text where available.
4. Sourcing and Source Protection
Sources who speak to BJJ Girls Mag under a promise of confidentiality are protected without time limit and without exception. We do not disclose source identity to civil parties, commercial counterparties, federations, employers, or anyone else, and we resist compelled disclosure to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, including journalistic source confidentiality under Brazilian Constitutional Article 5, item XIV, and equivalent press shield frameworks in other jurisdictions.
Source protection survives publication, survives the resolution of any case, and survives the closure of BJJ Girls Mag as an operation. Editorial materials related to confidential sources, including drafts, notes, communications, and supporting documents, are retained according to an internal source protection protocol and are not subject to ordinary data deletion requests.
5. Coverage of Sensitive Stories: Four-Tier Protocol
For stories involving allegations of abuse, sexual misconduct, domestic violence, harassment, criminal conduct, or other sensitive matters, BJJ Girls Mag applies a four-tier protection protocol that determines what can and cannot be published, at what level of identification, and with what supporting documentation.
Tier 1 (minimum threshold for any publication, including anonymized coverage): dated written authorization from the source or victim referencing BJJ Girls Mag, a copy of a government-issued identification document, at least one official document corroborating the account (police report, court filing, protective order, medical or institutional record), and a written chronology of the facts. Without all four elements, nothing is published, in any form.
Tier 2: publication without naming the accused. Used when the documentary record is solid but a formal legal proceeding is not yet in motion, or when the institutional setting requires structural rather than individual identification.
Tier 3: publication naming the accused, restricted to cases where a formal legal proceeding has been initiated and the right of reply has been fulfilled in writing with documented opportunity to respond.
Tier 4: full publication including name, image, and detailed identification, reserved for cases with a final, non-appealable judgment.
When in doubt between two tiers, the editorial decision is to apply the lower tier. The presumption of innocence applies to every named individual under all applicable law unless and until a final judgment establishes otherwise.
6. Protection of Minors
Stories involving minors, or in which the victim was a minor at the time of the events covered, never identify the minor, even with family authorization and even after the individual has reached the age of majority. This standard is mandated by the Brazilian Statute of the Child and Adolescent (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente, Articles 17 and 18) and reflected in our internal practice in all jurisdictions in which we publish.
7. Right of Reply
Every individual or institution named in our coverage has a right to send a formal manifestation, defense statement, or correction request, in line with Brazilian Law 13.188/2015 and the equivalent press freedom and right-of-reply frameworks in other jurisdictions. Substantive responses received in good faith are reproduced alongside the original coverage. Requests received after the initial publication that meet the legal threshold for right of reply are published as follow-up coverage or appended to the original article, as appropriate.
8. Corrections Policy
When we identify a factual error in a published article, we correct it promptly, mark the correction transparently within the article, and, when the correction is material, note the change in an updated editorial note at the top or bottom of the piece. Stylistic edits and typographical fixes are not separately disclosed.
Correction requests can be sent to bjjgirlsmag@gmail.com with the subject line “Correction Request”. Please include the URL of the article and a brief description of the alleged error along with supporting documentation where available.
9. Conflicts of Interest
Editorial decisions are made independently of the commercial side of the operation. Where a conflict of interest exists or could reasonably be perceived, including personal relationships, affiliate partnerships, or commercial agreements with a party covered in the story, the conflict is disclosed within the article or, where appropriate, the editor in question is removed from the assignment.
The founder and editor of BJJ Girls Mag, Samanta Fonseca, also operates the Selo Mulher Segura certification program, which certifies gyms and academies that meet documented safety standards for women. Coverage involving certified academies follows the same editorial standards as coverage of any other institution, and the existence of a certification relationship, where relevant, is disclosed within the article.
10. Sponsored Content and Affiliate Disclosures
Sponsored content, when published, is labeled “Sponsored”, “Partnership”, or with equivalent clear language, and is editorially distinguished from independent coverage. Affiliate links to products from selected jiu-jitsu and combat-sports brands may earn the publication a commission at no additional cost to the reader. Editorial coverage of any product or brand, sponsored or not, follows the same standards of factual reporting and independent assessment.
11. Use of Artificial Intelligence
BJJ Girls Mag uses artificial intelligence tools as editorial aids, including for research, transcription, translation between Portuguese and English, and copy refinement. Every published article passes through human editorial review by Samanta Fonseca or a credited contributor before publication. We do not publish AI-generated text as a substitute for original reporting, and we do not publish AI-generated images as if they were photographic documentation of real events.
12. Reader Engagement and Editorial Tips
BJJ Girls Mag welcomes editorial tips, leads, and reader feedback. All submissions are reviewed by the editor before any decision to pursue further reporting. Submitting a tip does not create an obligation to publish, and our decision to cover or not to cover a particular story is made in line with the standards described in this policy.
For more on how to direct your message, please see our Contact page.
13. Contact
For questions about this Editorial Policy or about a specific piece of coverage, please contact bjjgirlsmag@gmail.com.