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Home / Editorial policy — claims, sources and evidence | Otwoo

OTWOO · LANGUAGE, TECHNOLOGY, CONTEXT

A method. No shortcut to certainty.

Separate four things a message often mixes together: what was claimed, who published it, what evidence exists and what we still do not know.

Anonymous hands following a printed passage with a cyan ruler
Follow the passage, not just the headline.

Four fields for clearer thinking

  1. Claim: write a testable sentence without expanding what was said.
  2. Source: look for the origin, not just the person who forwarded it.
  3. Evidence: identify the relevant passage, table or record.
  4. Limit: explain what the evidence does not establish.
From message to a traceable record
  1. Claim

    What exactly could be checked?

  2. Source

    Who published it, and when?

  3. Evidence

    Which passage supports the claim?

  4. Limit

    What remains unconfirmed?

How we publish

We distinguish historical records, present-day checks and editorial proposals. Capture dates do not replace publication dates. When a source changes or an error is found, a correction should explain what changed.

Some claims remain unconfirmed. That is a useful outcome when evidence is missing; it should not become an accusation or a statement of certainty.

Bring the method into the conversation

Open the worksheet to use these fields. The guides to messages and sources show two different situations.

By Otwoo · Updated

Original editorial material for this edition. Read the policy.