Spain Buddy’s code of ethics

(Or: how we try not to be awful on the internet)

At Spain Buddy, we like to think we’re a fairly reasonable bunch. Not perfect. Not saints. But broadly decent humans trying to run a useful website without selling our souls for banner ads and free wine.

This page sets out what we stand for, what we won’t stand for, and how we behave when nobody’s watching (which, incidentally, is most of the time).

It covers this website and all of our Social Media channels. Just because you flit around like a deranged bat in your local Facebook Group does not give you the right to go without consequnces on anything we write or share. Elle is polite… until she’s not. You may be called out and she’s not too shy to contact your Employer or Mum to let them see what you spout when their backs are turned.  

1. Basic decency (a radical concept)

We do not tolerate racism, bigotry, discrimination, or anything else that makes the internet an exhausting place to be.

You’re welcome to disagree with people. In fact, we encourage it. But if your idea of “debate” involves attacking entire groups of people or advocating harm, you’ll find yourself very much unwelcome here.

In short:
Be interesting. Be funny. Be opinionated. Just don’t be a dick.

2. Diversity (without making a big song and dance about it)

Our contributors come from all sorts of backgrounds, which is exactly how it should be. We don’t ask intrusive questions about anyone’s ethnicity, religion, gender identity, or anything else that’s none of our business.

If someone writes well and has something worth saying, that’s enough for us.

3. Opinions are… opinions

Articles on Spain Buddy reflect the views of the person who wrote them. Not a political party. Not a corporate sponsor. Not “the official stance of Spain Buddy HQ”.

We are proudly independent and plan to stay that way.

You might agree with everything you read here. You might not. That’s fine. Life would be very dull otherwise.

4. Advertising (yes, we need it. No, it doesn’t own us)

Running a website costs money. That’s hardly a unique concept.

So yes, we have advertisers. But here’s the important bit:
They don’t get to tell us what to say, remove content, or quietly “nudge” us into behaving.

If it ever came down to it, we would happily part ways with an advertiser rather than compromise what we publish. We have done so.

(We would, however, prefer not to. Bills are still a thing.)

5. Content integrity

We aim to be accurate, fair, and useful.

Will we occasionally get something wrong? Almost certainly. But when we do, we’ll fix it.

What we won’t do is knowingly publish misleading information, clickbait nonsense, or anything designed purely to game algorithms rather than help actual human beings.

5.1 Use of AI

This brings us nicely into the use of AI on Spain Buddy. Yes, we sometimes use ChatGPT to research content and to generate some imagery. However, everything is ALWAYS run by a Spain Buddy editor and never published in any way to deceive. At all times we strive to operate within the new EU’s new AI Act that came in during the summer of 2026.

6. Comments & community

We welcome discussion. We really do. But this is not the Wild West of comment sections. If things descend into abuse, spam, or general chaos, we will step in. Possibly with a heavy hand.

Think of it less as censorship and more as tidying up after a party that got out of hand.

As of the summer of 2026, we made the decision to switch off comments on articles. You all seem happier nattering over on Social Media anyway, and this makes it one fewer registration for you to worry about. Of course you’re always welcome to contact us if you have something you really need to say to us. We may or may not respond. 

7. Common sense (the catch-all clause)

If something feels off, unethical, or just a bit… grim, we won’t include it. This isn’t a legal document filled with loopholes and technicalities. It’s a simple guiding principle:
Act like decent people running a website we’re proud of.

Finally…

We’ve been doing this since 2012, and the goal hasn’t changed:
Create something useful, honest, and occasionally entertaining about life in Spain.

Everything above exists to protect that and if we ever drift too far from that, feel free to call us out (politely, ideally).