Verification is the core of what makes journalism worth trusting. This page describes, in plain terms, the checks a piece passes before it goes out.
Before publication
- Every significant factual claim is checked against a source — a document, a dataset, or an accountable person — and the source is recorded.
- Names, titles, dates, places, and figures are checked against primary records.
- Quotes are checked against the recording or notes they came from, and used in context.
- Anyone facing significant criticism is offered a right of reply before we publish.
- A second person — an editor — reads the piece for accuracy, fairness, and legal risk before it is approved.
Working at news speed
On a fast-moving story we publish what we have confirmed and clearly mark what is still developing, rather than asserting more than we know. As facts firm up, we update the piece and note that we have done so. Speed never overrides the rule that we do not state as fact something we have not verified.
Being a small newsroom
We do not have a large, separate fact-checking desk, and we will not pretend to. What we have is a discipline: sources recorded, a second set of editorial eyes, a right of reply, and a visible corrections process for when we still get it wrong. As the newsroom grows, these checks become more formal; the standard behind them does not change.