The Dubai News

    Contributor Agreement

    This sets out the terms of your agreement with The Dubai News (“TLN”, “we”, “our” or “us”).

    1. Content

    The Dubai News will provide you with an online portal to publish content, which you agree to provide as described in the Terms of Use (“Terms”), as amended from time to time, attached hereto and incorporated herein (the “Work”) for posting on thedubai.news and its associated social media platforms.

    2. Rights and Responsibilities

    You own the rights to the content you create and post on The Dubai News. By posting content to The Dubai News, you give us a non-exclusive licence to publish it on The Dubai News Services, including anything reasonably related to publishing it (like storing, displaying, reformatting, and distributing it). In consideration for The Dubai News granting you access to and use of the Services, you agree that The Dubai News may enable advertising on the Services, including in connection with the display of your content or other information. We may also use your content to promote The Dubai News, including its products and content. We will never sell your content to third parties without your explicit permission.

    We encourage you to post comments and upload creations to The Dubai News but you’re responsible for the content you post. This means you assume all risks related to it, including someone else’s reliance on its accuracy, or claims relating to intellectual property or other legal rights.

    We have a few principles so please don’t post or upload anything that:

    • Is inappropriate (abusive, offensive or disruptive)
    • Is off topic (to the original content or the current conversation)
    • Contains personal information (either your own or someone else’s)
    • Puts children at risk
    • Is illegal, or glamourises illegal activity
    • Is defamatory (damaging to someone else’s reputation)
    • Is in contempt of court (anything that could affect the outcome of a court case)
    • Infringes anyone’s rights (including privacy rights)
    • Was made by someone else, or that copies someone else’s creation
    • Isn’t in English
    • Contains links to content that can’t be seen easily, or may be unsafe (viruses, spyware, paywalls etc.)
    • Breaks our UK election and referendum rules
    • Or doesn’t comply with the rest of our Terms

    If you have published content elsewhere and want to post onto The Dubai News you can, as long as you have the rights you need to do so. By posting content to The Dubai News, you represent that doing so doesn’t conflict with any other agreement you’ve made.

    3. Copyright / Coverage

    Except for the rights granted to us hereunder, you retain all rights, including copyright, in the Work. We intend that this agreement shall cover Works published in any of the media channels after the date of this agreement.

    4. Representations and Warranties; Indemnification; Conflict of Interest

    a) You represent and warrant that you will be the sole author of the Work; that the Work will be original and not previously published in any form; that the Work will not knowingly contain any untrue statements or material that is deceptive, fraudulent or intentionally misleading; that it will not knowingly invade any right of privacy or infringe upon any statutory or common law copyright or otherwise violate the rights of any third party or any applicable law or regulation; and that all statements in the Work which are asserted as facts are true and/or based upon reasonable research for accuracy. You agree to cooperate in the defence of any legal action brought against The Dubai News arising from the publication of your Work and you agree to retain all notes, drafts and copies relating to the Work for three (3) years from the publication date.

    b) You agree and represent that you will disclose to The Dubai News in writing any actual or potential conflict of interest, including but not limited to any financial interest in any product, firm, or commercial venture relating to the subject of the Work.

    c) You agree and represent that you will clear, at your expense, the rights set forth in Section 2 for any third party content you include in the Work. If you do not, you shall not include such content in the Work.

    d) You shall indemnify The Dubai News and hold The Dubai News harmless from and against any and all liability, loss, damages, costs or expenses including reasonable lawyer fees with respect to any action, suit, proceeding, claim, or demand made or brought by a third party arising from any breach of your representations or warranties, or any other provision of this Agreement or the Contributor Guidelines.

    e) In the event that you engage in any behaviour in breach of the terms of this Agreement or the associated Contributor Guidelines and/or any act which may tarnish The Dubai News brand (including, but not limited to, misrepresentations, failure to disclose conflicts of interest, or publishing third party content without obtaining the proper rights to do so), The Dubai News reserves all rights to pursue any and all legal remedies against you and will seek to recover all applicable damages, including, but not limited to, disgorgement of profits, return of monies paid to you hereunder, and damages for the reputational harm to The Dubai News that arise from your acts or omissions, as well as its reasonable lawyer fees.

    5. Liability of Content Contributors

    The Dubai News, in its sole discretion, may publish, withdraw, postpone or alter any content you provide. You understand that you are responsible for any legal claims arising from the Work you provide and that The Dubai News intends to treat such Work as covered by the Malicious Communications Act 1988, the Communications Act 2003 and the Defamation Act 2013.

    6. Contributor Guidelines

    You agree to abide by the terms of the Contributor Guidelines as amended from time to time, which are incorporated herein by this reference and which will be provided to you. You also agree to periodically check the guidelines for any amendments. Note: Your failure to follow the Guidelines, particularly those pertaining to copyright infringement, will result in termination of this agreement.

    7. Term and Termination

    This agreement shall remain in effect until either party has terminated it. Both Monthly and Annual subscriptions renew automatically, and payment is taken, the day after the billing period expires unless the subscription has been cancelled beforehand. You may cancel at any time from your dashboard or the billing portal, with no notice period and no cancellation fee; cancelling before your renewal date stops the next payment. We will send a reminder 14 days before payment is due so you can make sure funds are available. Clause 12 sets out how billing, cancellation and refunds work in practice. All provisions that, by their nature, should survive termination shall survive, including any grant of rights/licence.

    8. Modification

    This agreement contains our entire understanding and may not be modified, waived, assigned or discharged orally. Any modification, waiver, assignment or discharge must be in writing and signed by you and by us.

    9. Governing Law

    This agreement is governed by English law. The English courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute relating to this agreement. You agree that any suit arising from the Work must take place in an English court. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision.

    10. Prohibition of Resale

    The resale of our services is strictly forbidden. Any attempt to resell our services will result in immediate cancellation of your subscription or cessation of pay-as-you-go services. If you are found to be reselling our services, all posts and contributions from the offending account will be removed without notice. No refunds will be issued for any services terminated due to resale violations. We reserve the right to monitor accounts for compliance with these terms and conditions. Any detected violations will be addressed promptly and may include legal action if necessary.

    If you are in agreement with the above between us, please indicate your approval by signing up and accepting these terms when you create your contributor account with The Dubai News.

    11. Plans, Posting Limits and Payment

    The Dubai News offers three contributor plans. Your acceptance of this Agreement applies to whichever plan you use, and each plan carries its own usage limits, byline rights and payment terms.

    • Free plan (AED 0): Up to 10 articles per calendar month, a maximum of 3 embedded outbound links per article, and a fixed “Guest Post” byline. Articles enter the standard editorial review queue.
    • One-Off (AED 75 per article): A single premium article with up to 5 embedded links, a custom byline and priority review (typically published within 24 hours). Payment is taken at the point of submission and is non-refundable once the article has been reviewed or published. One-Off accounts are not eligible for the verified badge.
    • Pro (AED 249 per month or AED 2,490 per year): Unlimited articles, unlimited embedded links, multiple and saved custom bylines, the ability to publish on behalf of clients or companies, priority posting (typically live within 12 hours) and eligibility to apply for the verified badge. Pro is available monthly at AED 249 or annually at AED 2,490 (twelve months for the price of ten - two months free). Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing term (monthly or annual) under clause 7 above and may be cancelled at any time from your dashboard or the billing portal, with no notice period; annual subscriptions run to the end of the paid term and are not refunded pro rata.

    All plans are subject to the editorial, legal and content standards set out elsewhere in this Agreement. The Dubai News reserves the right to refuse, edit, unpublish or remove any submission that breaches these terms, regardless of plan, and no refund is owed in respect of content removed for breach.

    12. Subscriptions, Billing and No Refunds

    Payments are taken by our payment provider, Stripe. We do not receive or store your full card details. By starting a subscription or one-off purchase you authorise us, through Stripe, to charge the payment method you provide for the amount shown at checkout, including any applicable taxes.

    Pro subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing term until cancelled. You can view your plan, renewal date, payment history and receipts at any time in your dashboard, and you can cancel or change your payment method through the billing portal linked from your account. Cancellation stops future renewals; access to Pro features continues until the end of the term already paid for, and part-used terms are not refunded.

    Where we issue a promotional code, free trial period or complimentary Pro access, it applies only to the account it was issued to, cannot be exchanged for cash, may be limited to first-time subscribers, and unless we state otherwise your plan reverts to standard pricing once the promotional period ends. We may withdraw a code at any time before it is used.

    All payments to The Dubai News are non-refundable. This applies to one-off article fees, monthly and annual Pro subscriptions, part-used billing terms, gifted or discounted plans and any account closed, blocked or terminated for breach of this Agreement. Our full No Refund Policy forms part of this Agreement, and you should read it before paying.

    Because our services are digital content and services supplied immediately, by paying you ask us to begin supply at once and you acknowledge that you lose the 14-day right to cancel that would otherwise apply under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Nothing in this Agreement removes your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where a service is not carried out with reasonable care and skill.

    13. Accounts and Email Verification

    You must register an account with a valid email address that you control, keep your login details confidential, and you are responsible for everything done through your account. New accounts must confirm their email address using the link we send before an article can be submitted. Accounts may not be shared, sold or transferred, and we may suspend or close any account used to breach this Agreement or to create duplicate or misleading identities. Where we identify duplicate accounts belonging to the same person or organisation, we may merge them, keeping the content and the longest-running entitlements.

    14. Bylines, Author Pages and Verification

    Free submissions are published under the fixed “Guest Post” byline. One-Off and Pro contributors may use a custom byline and Pro contributors may save multiple bylines and publish on behalf of clients. You confirm that you hold the right to use every name, photograph, logo and description you supply, that the byline is not impersonating another person or publication, and that any client work is properly authorised. Author pages, including your biography, links, chosen colours, profile photograph and pinned article, are published content and subject to the same standards and to editorial and automated review.

    The verified badge is a discretionary editorial mark available only to active Pro accounts. Free and One-Off contributors cannot apply for it, and buying One-Off articles does not create any entitlement to it. It is available only to Pro accounts that pass our identity and credibility checks. It is not a paid feature, does not transfer between accounts, and may be declined or removed at any time, including where an account leaves Pro, without a refund.

    15. Editorial Workflow and Published Content

    Submissions move through the newsroom workflow: draft, pending review, scheduled, published or returned for changes. Our editors and moderators may edit, retitle, re-categorise, schedule, feature, unpublish or archive any article, and may apply automated and AI-assisted checks for accuracy, originality, tone and legal risk. Editorial decisions and priority timings are targets rather than guarantees, and being featured or highlighted on the home page is at our discretion. If you want an article removed after publication you may request removal from your dashboard; we will consider each request, but we are not obliged to remove content and may retain copies for legal and archival purposes.

    16. Analytics, Link Tracking and Advertising

    We record page views, reader numbers and clicks on links inside articles so that we and our contributors can see how content performs. This measurement uses anonymous identifiers rather than personal profiles, and outbound links in articles are routed through our click tracking. Reported figures are indicative and are not audited or guaranteed. We may display advertising alongside your content, and we do not pay contributors a share of advertising revenue unless separately agreed in writing.

    17. Communications

    We will send you service messages relating to your account, submissions, editorial decisions, verification and payments; these are part of the service and cannot be opted out of while your account is open. Marketing or newsletter emails are separate and can be unsubscribed from using the link in those messages. Records of activity on your account, such as sign-ins, submissions and status changes, are kept for security and audit purposes.

    18. Suspension, Blocking and Account Closure

    We may block, suspend or close an account at any time where we reasonably believe this Agreement has been breached, where content is unlawful or harmful, where payment fails or is reversed, or where an account is used for spam, resale or impersonation. A blocked account is signed out immediately and cannot sign in, submit or edit articles until an editor or administrator lifts the block. Articles already published may remain live, be unpublished or be archived at our discretion. Where an account is closed, its articles may be kept on the platform under an anonymised placeholder account, transferred to another contributor, or deleted. Blocking, suspension or closure does not entitle you to any refund.

    Our editorial team keeps internal notes and an audit record of moderation, billing and account actions. These records are used for safety, compliance and support purposes and are not published.

    19. Chargebacks

    If you raise a chargeback or payment dispute instead of contacting us first, we may suspend your account and unpublish your content while the dispute is investigated, and we may recover any fees charged to us by the payment provider.

    By selecting a paid plan and submitting payment, or by submitting an article on the Free plan, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this Contributor Agreement in full, including our No Refund Policy.

    Last updated: 6 September 2026.