Fact-Checking Policy
A fact check tests a specific public claim against the available evidence and publishes a clear verdict.
What we check
Fact checks examine one claim, or a small set of closely related claims, made in public. Each check names the claim, who made it, the evidence we reviewed, the method we used and the limits of that evidence.
How a verdict is reached
We prefer original documents, official data and first-hand reporting. An editor reviews the evidence before a verdict is published. If new evidence changes the conclusion, we update the check and say what changed.
Verdicts
We use these verdicts: True, Mostly true, False, Misleading, Missing context, Altered, Synthetic media, No evidence and Unproven. The verdict describes the claim, not the person who made it.