Editorial Guidelines for We Are The Mighty

Our Mission

We Are The Mighty is an award-winning celebration of military service, with a mission to entertain, inform, and inspire those who serve and the people who support them. We are made by and for current service members, veterans, spouses, family members, and civilians who want to be part of this community.

Launched in 2014, founders Linda Alexander and David Gale recognized the unique qualities of the military community. They believed we deserved our own corner of the internet, a place dedicated to informing and entertaining its distinct audience while educating the general public.

This publication is about military members, veterans, and spouses doing incredible things. We find untold and age-old tales of famous battles, we celebrate history, aviation, tanks, all things tactical and strategic, our mighty heroes, news of the weird or strange, emerging technology, entertainment, and more.

WATM creates authentic, entertaining content unique to the military-veteran community as a way to connect service members, share their memories, reflect on their service, and honor those who serve us every day.

Since 2015, WATM has honored the “Mighty 25,” 25 individuals in the military community who are going above and beyond to serve others. Our editorial team works diligently to identify changemakers in the veteran, active duty, and military family space, and we debate for months who should make the final cut. 

Selectees are advocates who use their influence and voices to impact policies; entrepreneurs with a passion for service; disruptors who force accountability and meaningful change; volunteers who give so much of themselves to better the lives of others; and leaders whose vision and actions inspire us all. Some of our Mighty 25 are celebrities, while others are names you may have never heard. Without equivocation, they are all making a profound impact not just on our community, but on the world. 

We Are The Mighty’s Leadership

We Are The Mighty is led by Editor-in-Chief Blake Stilwell. He was one of the founding writers for We Are The Mighty, in its early days. He came from Military.com, where he first covered Veteran Employment before becoming Culture & Entertainment Editor. Before becoming a writer, Blake lived in the Palestinian Territory, where he served as the Communications Officer for the Near East Foundation, America’s oldest international development nonprofit.

Blake’s military roots date back to the days of BDUs, where he spent most of his Air Force career as a combat cameraman at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. He can be reached at editor@wearethemighty.com.

Editorial Independence 

At Recurrent Ventures, we believe our “audience first, revenue second” ethos cannot function without editorial independence driving everything we do. Our platforms are built on a foundation of trust with our audience.

Consequently, editorial decisions are made without interference from anyone outside the editorial and content management teams. Our editors, writers, video producers, content leads, and social media managers have explicit control over our content.

Any other employees, such as those in product, HR, advertising, business development, or senior stakeholders, such as company owners and investors, cannot mandate—through either direct conversation or other influence—the content we publish. Advertisers, direct or otherwise, have no sway over editorial content. We work to adhere to the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. 

Transparency, Disclosures, and Conflicts of Interest

Our “audience first, revenue second” principle means we act in our readers’ and viewers’ best interests above all else; operate transparently with our methods; avoid conflicts of interest and disclose business relationships; and make sure our audiences know exactly what they’re getting from us.

Our teams are required to be clear about any relationships we have that might appear to influence our coverage. No staff member shall have financial interests in an area they cover, including shares in a company relevant to their subject matter. 

The products we test are used for content creation, and we always offer to return them to manufacturers after testing. Staff members and regular contributors are forbidden from accepting compensation from entities they cover. Likewise, staff members and contributors are prohibited from selling any products they receive for review.

Recurrent earns commissions through our product review links, which we disclose in each story that contains affiliate links. Our product reviews and recommendations are solely guided by our expertise, research, and experience; any “sponsored reviews” or deals will be clearly marked as such.

Furthermore, any branded or sponsored content will be clearly labeled. Recurrent’s various publications may engage editorial staff members with this content in different ways, but transparency will never be in question.

Accuracy & Accountability

Our team at We Are The Mighty works hard to deliver great content every day. While we really want to make sure you’re entertained, more than anything, we want to make sure we’re telling you the truth. Every word we publish is read by a senior editor who does their best to ensure we’re providing our readers with information that’s helpful, factual and relevant. 

We are also 100% human-operated. No bots or AI here. Unfortunately, humans make mistakes, but we own up to ours. If you encounter an error, please notify us. We’ll review and if we screwed up, you’ll see that reflected in the article. If we stand by our claims and research, we’ll let you know our sources and why. Our writers are exceptional, and we believe in their work. We also know some of them eat crayons.

Sustainable Creativity

At Recurrent, we love writers and we love journalists. That’s why we’re committed to building, growing, and improving a workplace culture that supports the careers, health, and well-being of the people who create our articles, videos, podcasts, tweets, and everything in between. To us, that manifests in two ways:

Prioritizing compassion. Media is a tough business, and the internet is an especially grueling place to work. Our managers run newsrooms based on the idea that a climate of dignity and respect produces the best work. At the same time, our leave, vacation, and holiday schedules are designed to provide journalists with the time they need to unplug and recharge. 

Building a community of journalists. We’re all as dedicated to the success of each individual brand as we are to the growth and development of each individual journalist. Editors and writers at our various publications celebrate one another’s wins as much as they support one another through challenges. This means our brands are committed to regularly collaborating, exchanging tips and ideas, and pushing one another to do our best work.