Editorial standards

These are the public parts of the style guide every story follows. In short: say what happened, show the evidence, explain why it matters, and put open questions in one place.

How stories are built

The first sentence says who did what, and when. The next explains why it matters.
Every figure carries its unit, period and source, plus the comparison that gives it meaning.
Facts are stated plainly with attribution. Uncertainty goes in a "What we don't know yet" box rather than in every paragraph.
Our own inference is marked as such and never leads a news report.
We publish briefs, reports, explainers and analysis. Each format has a length and sourcing minimum, and a story is never labeled as a format its evidence can't support.

Sources

We prefer primary documents: statements, filings, datasets, rulings, bill text and studies. We link the original.
We credit original reporting by naming the outlet and reporter.
Reports, explainers and analysis need at least three citations from at least two independent publishers. Two pages from the same organization count once.
We write our own sentences and add synthesis. We don't reproduce another outlet's text, tables or images.
We never bypass paywalls, logins or bot checks, and we respect sites that opt out of automated access.

Quotes

Quotes are verbatim, 25 words or fewer, attributed by name and role, and present at the linked source. We never invent, merge or tidy a quote. If no verbatim quote exists, the story paraphrases with attribution.

Lean ratings

We rate political lean in three separate lanes that are never merged or inherited:

Outlet: a publisher as a whole.
This article: one external article listed under "Who covered this".
Our story: our own story, tied to its exact revision.

Ratings are based only on documented evidence about specific wording or framing. We never infer a rating from an outlet's name, reputation or topic, and we never copy another site's rating. There is no "center" label.

Unrated: The default. No rating has been assigned because there isn't enough evidence yet.
Left / Leans left: Documented wording or framing that favors a left-of-center position.
Right / Leans right: Documented wording or framing that favors a right-of-center position.
Mixed: Documented framing in more than one direction.
No clear direction: The evidence shows no directional framing. This is not a "balanced" badge.
Nonpolitical: No policy or party dimension, such as a game release or a meteorite.
Insufficient evidence: We looked, but the available material can't support a rating.
Unsupported context: The subject sits outside the political context our method covers.

The number of outlets in "Who covered this" is a count of coverage, not a bias score.

Corrections and updates

When a published fact is wrong, we correct it and add a dated note that names the error plainly. New information gets an "Updated" note. Every change creates a permanent revision, and we never silently change a fact, number, quote or name. All corrections are listed on our corrections page.

AI and bylines

Every story is AI-written and carries a disclosure line naming the AI writer, the AI source checker and the human editor who approved it. Read more on how we use AI.