Correction policy
Correction policy
When the evidence shows a page is wrong, misleading or materially out of date, the page changes, and the change is visible. When it does not, the page stays as it is and the reason is recorded.
The outcomes
- Corrected — the statement is fixed, and a dated correction note sits where the error was.
- Updated — a fact overtaken by events is brought up to date, with the date of the update.
- Clarified or given context — nothing was false, but the presentation misled; the missing context is added.
- No change — the evidence supports the page, or the report concerns opinion or a disputed interpretation. The reason is recorded.
- Closed — the report was malicious or unsupported. It is recorded and closed, and reopened if evidence arrives.
How a correction is shown
A significant correction is made promptly and with due prominence: a reader who returns to the page can see what changed and when. Corrections are not made silently, and an error is not quietly deleted. The correction note describes the change; it never names or describes the person who reported it.
Malicious and false reports
Reporting in good faith is welcome, including reports that turn out to be mistaken. Reports made to harass, to flood a page, or to push a false claim are recorded and closed without action. Repeated abuse from the same source is limited automatically. Duplicate reports of the same concern are joined to the first, so the number of reports never stands in for evidence.
Correction history
Each outcome is added to the sealed record of the report. Correction history may later be published as a register of changes by page; if it is, it will contain the page, the change and the date — never the identity of a reporter.
Sources
- Independent Press Standards Organisation. Editors’ Code of Practice, Clause 1 (Accuracy). https://www.ipso.co.uk/editors-code-of-practice/
- International Fact-Checking Network. Code of Principles: the commitments. https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/the-commitments