Fact-Checking Policy
Why this policy exists
IAQABA publishes news across ten sections for readers who will act on what they read and who will, quite rightly, check us. This policy explains what happens to a claim between the moment we hear it and the moment it appears in a story. It is the working half of the editorial standards: the standards say we must be accurate, and this page says how.
Start from the primary source
Every story is built from the material closest to the event. For news, that is the official statement, the court document, the transcript, the vote tally. For business, the filing, the results release, the exchange notice, the regulator’s decision. For science, the published paper with its data and methods. For sports, the governing body’s record. For entertainment, technology, auto and gaming, the studio, manufacturer or publisher’s own announcement, specification or listing. For travel and lifestyle, the authority responsible for the rule or the figure. Reports by other publications are used as leads to find the primary source, not as the source itself.
Every claim carries an owner
Before a story runs, each factual claim in it must be traceable to a specific source the editor can name. A claim without an owner is cut. A claim whose only owner is an interested party is attributed to that party in the sentence, with the interest made clear: the manufacturer says, the club claims, the company’s own figures show. Attribution tells the reader how much weight to give a claim. It is never a way of publishing something we suspect is false.
Numbers
A number is checked against its source, and the story states the base, the period and the unit. A percentage says what it is a percentage of. A growth figure says growth from when. A currency figure names the currency, and where it has been converted, the story says at what rate and date. Large numbers are sanity-checked against something the reader can picture. When two sources give different figures, the story either says which one we used and why or reports both. A figure that cannot be reconciled is not published.
Names, titles, places and dates
Spellings of people and organisations are checked against an authoritative record, not against another news story. Titles are checked as of the date of the event, because people change jobs. Places are identified with enough detail that a reader anywhere can locate them. Dates are written in full to avoid the ambiguity of numeric formats across regions. Time zones are stated where timing matters.
Quotations
A quotation must be what the person said, in the words they used, checked against a recording, transcript or written statement. Where we quote from a translation, the story says so. We do not tidy a quotation into a claim the speaker did not make, and we do not cut it to reverse its meaning. Quotations taken from social media are checked against the original account and the original post, and we note if the post was later deleted or edited.
Images and video
A photograph or clip is verified before use: where it was taken, when, by whom, and whether it shows what it is claimed to show. We use reverse image search, metadata where available, and comparison against known landmarks and reported conditions. Footage that cannot be placed and dated is not used as evidence of an event. Supplied images are labelled as supplied, and file images as file images.
Anonymous sources
Information from a source we cannot name is used only when it is important, cannot be obtained on the record, and can be corroborated by at least one independent source or document. The source’s identity is known to at least one editor besides the writer. The story describes the source’s position and reason for anonymity as fully as safety allows. We do not publish accusations against private individuals on anonymous sourcing, and we do not pay for information.
Claims we could not confirm
Some claims matter and cannot be confirmed before deadline. When that happens, the story either leaves the claim out or reports it as unconfirmed, using that word, and says what we tried. A developing story is labelled as developing, and each update is dated. We would rather publish a shorter story that is entirely right than a longer one with a paragraph we cannot stand behind.
Before publication
Every story is read by an editor who was not its writer. The editor checks that each claim has a source, that numbers have their base and unit, that names and titles are right, that the headline is supported by the body, that opinion is labelled, and that anyone criticised was given a chance to respond. A story that fails any of these goes back. Stories on fast-moving events go through the same check; the check gets faster, not lighter.
After publication
Publication does not end the process. Readers, subjects and sources tell us when something is wrong, and we act on it under the corrections policy. Every correction is logged, and the log is reviewed for patterns that point to a weakness in this policy. When one is found, the policy changes and the change is noted. Requests to check a claim go to support@iaqaba.com with CORRECTION in the subject line.
