Evidence before certainty
Countdown to Disclosure distinguishes documented records from witness reports, allegations, interpretations, folklore, and demonstrably false material. A disputed claim should not be written as an established fact. When reliable sources disagree, the disagreement belongs in the story.
Source standards
Important factual claims should be supported by the strongest available source. We prefer legislation, hearing records, agency publications, archival files, court records, datasets, original imagery, and full interviews. Contemporaneous reporting and reputable investigative work provide context. Aggregators, unsourced social posts, screenshots without provenance, and circular citations are not sufficient support for extraordinary claims.
A source can prove that a person made a statement without proving that the statement itself is true. Articles should make that distinction explicit.
Headlines and summaries
Headlines should identify the actor, event, and evidentiary status without exaggeration. They should not convert an allegation into a finding, describe an ordinary unresolved observation as proof of non-human origin, or imply that declassification validates every assertion in a document.
Attribution and uncertainty
Material claims are attributed to the person, agency, document, or analysis responsible for them. We use qualifying language when the record is incomplete and separate what is confirmed, what is claimed, what an official body concluded, and what remains unknown. Images are illustrative unless they document the specific event.
Corrections and revisions
Substantive errors are corrected when the evidence supports a change. Pages display a last-modified date. A correction may update a fact, source, caption, date, link, or characterization. Minor spelling and formatting changes may be made without a separate notice. Material disputes that cannot be resolved from public evidence should be described rather than silently decided.
Automation and artificial intelligence
Automation may assist with transcription, document organization, formatting, link checking, metadata, or a first-pass draft. Automated output is never treated as evidence. It can invent citations, flatten uncertainty, or repeat errors, so source verification and editorial review remain necessary before publication or a substantive update.
Conflicts, commerce, and advocacy
Editorial coverage is separate from merchandise and commercial activity. We do not accept payment for a factual conclusion or favorable treatment. Relevant financial, personal, or organizational conflicts should be disclosed when they could reasonably affect coverage.
Reader participation
Corrections, primary sources, and rights questions can be sent through the Contact page. Do not send classified material, private credentials, unlawfully obtained personal information, or anything you are not authorized to disclose.