Corrections Policy
Why we correct in public
A publication that never admits an error is either not publishing much or not telling the truth. IAQABA publishes across ten sections every day, and some of what we publish will be wrong: a score, a spelling, an exchange rate, a title, a date, the base of a percentage. When it is, we fix it where it happened, we say what we fixed, and we keep a record. Quietly rewriting a sentence and pretending it always read that way is not a correction; it is a second error.
The purpose is not self-punishment. A visible correction tells the reader that the rest of the story has been checked to the same standard, and it tells the person who wrote in that the site listens. Both are worth more than the small embarrassment of the note.
Three kinds of change
A correction fixes a factual error: a wrong name, number, date, place or attribution. It is marked with a dated note at the foot of the story saying what was wrong and what it now says. A clarification adds context to something that was accurate but could reasonably have been misread, and is marked the same way. An update adds new information to a developing story, such as a later result, a response from a person named, or a new figure, and is marked with a dated line saying what was added.
Copy edits that do not change meaning, such as fixing a typo that no reader could have misunderstood, tightening a sentence or repairing a broken link, are made without a note. If a typo changed the meaning, it is a correction and gets one.
How to tell us
Write to support@iaqaba.com with CORRECTION in the subject line. Include the link to the story, the exact sentence or figure you are disputing, and what you believe is correct. Attach or point to the evidence: an official result, a filing, a published paper, a manufacturer’s page, a transcript. Requests with evidence are resolved fastest. Requests without it are still investigated, but we have to find the evidence ourselves first.
You do not need to be the subject of a story to request a correction, and you do not need to be right to be taken seriously. Every request is read by an editor.
What happens next
An editor checks the claim against the source the story relied on and against any evidence you sent. If the story was wrong, it is corrected the same day where possible, and you receive a reply saying so. If the story was right, you receive a reply explaining what the source says and why we are keeping the text. If the answer is unclear, we tell you that too, and we may add a clarification while we look further. Disagreements about tone, emphasis or fairness are handled against the editorial standards rather than under this policy.
Where the note goes
The correction note sits at the foot of the story, dated, in plain language: what the story said, what it now says, and when it was changed. If the error was in the headline, the note says so. If the error was serious enough that a reader who saw the original may have been misled about the substance of the story, the note is moved to the top. Where the story was shared through our own channels, the correction is also noted there.
Scores, prices and time-sensitive figures
Results, standings, share prices, exchange rates, box-office totals and sales figures are correct at the time stated in the story. A figure that moves after publication is not an error, and we do not update every story to track it. Where a story’s point depends on a figure that later changed materially, we add an update. Where the figure was wrong at the time we published it, we correct it.
Requests to remove stories
We do not remove accurate stories because the subject would prefer they did not exist. The record of what happened is what a news site is for. We will consider removing or amending a story where it was materially wrong and cannot be fixed by correction, where it concerns a private person and its public interest has clearly expired, where a court order requires it, or where publication puts someone at real risk. Requests go to support@iaqaba.com with LEGAL in the subject line and are answered in writing, with reasons.
Breaking news and developing stories
A developing story is marked as such at the top. It may be updated many times as facts arrive, and each substantive update carries a dated line. Early details in a fast-moving event are often revised by official sources; when that happens we update the story and say what changed rather than replacing the earlier text silently. When the story stops moving, the developing label is removed and the update trail stays.
The correction log
Every correction and clarification is recorded in a log kept by the editors, with the story, the date, the error and the fix. The log is used to spot patterns: a source that keeps being wrong, a section that keeps confusing two similar names, a conversion we keep getting backwards. Where a pattern shows up, the fix goes into the way we work, not just the story. The fact-checking policy describes those working rules.
