Fact-Checking Policy

Standards we apply

• Primary sources first. We verify facts against the original document, dataset, or named expert — not summaries by other outlets.
• Two independent sources for any claim that’s contested, sensitive, or carries reputational risk.
• Direct quotes are checked against the recording, transcript, or written source before publication.
• Numbers are checked twice — once against the source, once arithmetically (especially when summarising or comparing).
• Names, dates, places, titles — verified spelling against authoritative records.

What we publish without a second source

Routine reporting on official notifications, press releases, and openly verifiable facts (a court order, a parliamentary answer, an INC notification) does not need a second source, but the original document is linked from the article.

Verification for sensitive topics

For stories involving:

• Clinical recommendations or dosing information — reviewed by a member of our Advisory Panel.
• Legal or regulatory allegations — verified against the document, and the named party is offered right of reply.
• Personal accounts or whistleblower reports — the source is known to the editor, their identity is verified, and at least one corroborating piece of evidence is found.

Handling of AI-generated content

We do not pass AI-generated paragraphs off as original reporting. Where AI tools assist with transcription, translation, or first-draft summarisation, a human editor verifies every claim. AI outputs are never quoted as if they were a named source.

What we don’t publish

• Anonymous claims with no corroboration.
• Numbers we can’t trace to a source.
• Quotes we can’t verify against the original speaker or recording.

When we discover an error after publication

See our Corrections Policy for the full process.