Bow Tie Kreative Writing System
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Rules / ethics

ETH-006 Hard constraint layer: document

Do not exploit vulnerability

IF the audience is distressed, grieving, cognitively impaired, financially desperate, a child, or otherwise vulnerable, THEN remove coercive pressure and raise clarity, evidence, consent, and review requirements ELSE retain.

Why the rule exists

Persuasion should preserve meaningful choice.

Condition

The rule fires when this evaluates true. Paths marked below must be present in the fact base; the engine reports the rest rather than guessing them.

  • audience.vulnerability in [distressed, grieving, cognitively_impaired, financially_desperate, child, dependent]

Facts this rule reads

PathSource
audience.vulnerability You supply it

Then

  1. remove — target copy.coercive_pressure
  2. raise — target document.safeguards

Else

  1. retain — target current_text, No triggering condition is present.

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention
Yes
Primary axes

Sources

  • Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion — Robert B. Cialdini
    Evidence-based principles of influence and ethical persuasion.
  • Advertising and Marketing Basics — U.S. Federal Trade Commission link
    Advertising claims must be truthful, non-deceptive, fair, and appropriately substantiated.
The raw rule record

Verbatim from 18-ethics-and-claims-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/ETH-006.

{
  "id": "ETH-006",
  "name": "Do not exploit vulnerability",
  "domain": "ethics",
  "layer": "document",
  "strength": "hard_constraint",
  "human_logic": "IF the audience is distressed, grieving, cognitively impaired, financially desperate, a child, or otherwise vulnerable, THEN remove coercive pressure and raise clarity, evidence, consent, and review requirements ELSE retain.",
  "when": {
    "path": "audience.vulnerability",
    "operator": "in",
    "value": [
      "distressed",
      "grieving",
      "cognitively_impaired",
      "financially_desperate",
      "child",
      "dependent"
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "remove",
      "target": "copy.coercive_pressure"
    },
    {
      "action": "raise",
      "target": "document.safeguards",
      "dimensions": [
        "clarity",
        "evidence",
        "consent",
        "human_review"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "Persuasion should preserve meaningful choice.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "BK-035",
    "WEB-012"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}

Other ethics rules

  1. ETH-001 No known false statement IF a statement is known to be false, THEN correct or remove it ELSE continue to evidence review. Hard constraint
  2. ETH-002 Evaluate express and implied claims IF wording, visuals, omissions, sequence, or context could imply a material claim, THEN evaluate that implication as well as the literal sentence ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  3. ETH-003 Evidence exists before objective claim IF an objective material claim will be published, THEN verify a reasonable evidentiary basis existed before dissemination ELSE block the claim. Hard constraint
  4. ETH-004 Disclose material conditions IF price, outcome, eligibility, risk, timing, endorsement, or availability depends on a material condition, THEN disclose it clearly and near the claim ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  5. ETH-005 Do not fabricate authority or social proof IF a credential, citation, endorsement, review, testimonial, user count, or case is unverifiable or synthetic without disclosure, THEN remove or accurately label it ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  6. ETH-007 Permission is not pressure IF a reader can legally or practically decline, THEN do not describe refusal as impossible, shameful, disloyal, or dangerous without evidence ELSE state real consequences neutrally. Hard constraint
  7. ETH-008 Preserve uncertainty in summaries IF source material expresses uncertainty, disagreement, limitation, or conditionality, THEN preserve it in summary ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  8. ETH-009 Separate persuasion from information when needed IF sponsorship, sales intent, advocacy, or conflict of interest could change reader interpretation, THEN disclose it early and plainly ELSE retain. Context default