Editorial standards

These are the rules our desk works to. They exist because a publication is worth only as much as a reader's ability to trust it.

Sourcing

Every factual claim traces to a named source, a public document, or a statement issued for publication. Where a fact is unverified we say it is unverified rather than hedging around it.

Quotations

We do not invent quotations, statistics or sources. A quotation appears only where somebody actually said it and is identified.

Original writing

We report on the same events as everyone else. We do not reproduce anyone else's prose. Facts are free; the writing is ours.

Press material

Where an article is drawn from a press release or a government statement, it says so at the top. Material issued by a United States agency is in the public domain.

Images

We publish photographs we are licensed to publish, and we print the credit the licence requires. Where an image was supplied with a release, we label it a handout.

Corrections

Corrections are made in place and labelled. We do not quietly edit a published claim.