Editorial standards

What we cover

Spiked Reviews covers products that go viral online: beauty and personal-care tools, home and cleaning gadgets, portable gadgets and accessories, kids' products and toys, and the recalls and safety warnings that affect them (not audio, TV, smart home or kitchen appliances, which are Review Boon's lane; no food, drinks or supplements). We report from primary sources: official statements and data, court and regulatory documents, company filings and announcements, published research, and people we interview ourselves.

Sources

Every story names its sources and links to them when they are public. When another outlet reports something first, we credit it and link to it. We do not republish other outlets' articles, and we do not rewrite them.

Checking

Before publication, every factual claim, figure, date and quote is checked against the named sources in a fact-check that is separate from the drafting. Claims the sources do not support are corrected or removed, and anything that needs a closer look gets a second, separate review and is corrected or held back. Each story shows when it was published and when it was last updated, and says when it was checked.

Some explainers and guides look back at earlier official releases. They carry the date we published them, and their headline and first lines say which period they cover.

Use of AI tools

We research and draft stories with the help of AI tools, working from the primary sources each story lists. The fact-check uses AI tools too, separately from the drafting. A story it flags gets a second, separate review and is corrected or held back. Spiked Reviews is responsible for everything it publishes.

Bylines

Stories carry the name of the writer or of the Spiked Reviews desk that produced them. We do not invent writers.

Independence

Advertisers and sponsors have no say over our editorial content. Paid content is always labelled as paid: see advertising and sponsorship.

Corrections

When we get something wrong, we correct it promptly and say what changed. See our corrections policy.

Official sources and licences

Our home and section pages list the latest releases from the official sources below: each source's own headline, its date and a link to the original. Nothing else is copied, and listing a release does not mean its source endorses Spiked Reviews.

• CPSC recalls for children: US government work, public domain
• OPSS product safety: toys (GOV.UK): Open Government Licence v3.0
• OPSS product safety: childcare articles and children's equipment (GOV.UK): Open Government Licence v3.0
• OPSS product safety: cosmetics (GOV.UK): Open Government Licence v3.0
• OPSS product safety: electrical appliances and equipment (GOV.UK): Open Government Licence v3.0
• ACCC Product Safety Australia: electronics and technology recalls: CC BY 4.0 (except logos, Coat of Arms and third-party content); credit as 'Source: ACCC © Commonwealth of Australia'; links must not imply ACCC endorsement (productsafety.gov.au disclaimer-and-copyright, read 2026-11-11)
• ACCC Product Safety Australia: home and garden recalls: CC BY 4.0 (except logos, Coat of Arms and third-party content); credit as 'Source: ACCC © Commonwealth of Australia'; links must not imply ACCC endorsement (productsafety.gov.au disclaimer-and-copyright, read 2026-11-11)
• CPSC recalls: US government work, public domain

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.