Journal of Communication and Cultural Studies (JCCS) upholds the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. Our ethical governance strictly adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices (https://publicationethics.org) and the Regulation of the Head of LIPI / BRIN on Scientific Publication Ethics.

1. Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

• Fair and Merit-Based Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief and Section Editors evaluate manuscripts exclusively on intellectual rigor, methodological soundness, originality, and relevance to JCCS's scope in communication and cultural studies�without regard to authors' race, gender, ethnicity, religious belief, citizenship, or institutional affiliation.
• Confidentiality: Editors must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, assigned double-blind reviewers, and the publisher.
• Conflict of Interest Recusal: Editors recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have competing, collaborative, or institutional conflicts of interest.

2. Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

• Contribution to Editorial Quality: Peer reviewers assist the Editorial Board in making informed editorial decisions and provide constructive, objective feedback to help authors strengthen their analysis.
• Confidentiality & Anonymity: Manuscripts received for review are treated as confidential documents under JCCS's strict Double-Blind Peer Review protocol.
• Source Vigilance: Reviewers identify relevant published works not yet cited by the authors and alert the Editor to any substantial similarity or overlap with other published works.

3. Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

• Originality & Anti-Plagiarism: Authors affirm that their manuscript is entirely original, has not been published previously, is not under consideration elsewhere, and passes Turnitin similarity screening (maximum 30% similarity index).
• Human Subjects & Ethnographic Ethics: Studies involving human participants, interviews, focus groups, or indigenous communities must document informed consent, participant anonymity/confidentiality protections, and ethical clearance where applicable.
• Data Accuracy & Retention: Authors must present accurate empirical data (interview transcripts, coding sheets, media corpora, survey datasets) and avoid fabrication, falsification, or selective manipulation.