Editorial standards
Correct the record. Explain the change.
I want The Daily Operational Brief to be accurate, but no publication gets everything right every time. When a meaningful factual error is identified, I will correct it as soon as reasonably possible and make the change clear when it matters.
Four kinds of changes
Not every change means the original report was wrong. The label should match what actually happened.
Factual error
Correction
A fact was materially wrong when published—for example, a number, date, location, identity, attribution, quotation, or description.
New information
Update
The original report was accurate at the time, but later evidence, official guidance, or changing conditions altered the operating picture.
Better understanding
Clarification
The underlying facts were accurate, but wording or missing context could reasonably leave readers with an incomplete or misleading impression.
No substantive change
Minor edit
Spelling, grammar, formatting, broken links, or wording changed without altering the substance or a reader’s understanding of the report.
How a correction is handled
Credible requests are evaluated against source material before the published record is changed.
01
Receive and review
I identify the precise claim being challenged and examine the evidence supplied with the request.
02
Verify independently
When practical, I check the claim against original documents, official sources, recordings, or other reliable evidence.
03
Correct the report
If the reporting is wrong, I update the affected passage, headline, summary, or assessment as necessary.
04
Explain what changed
For a material correction, I add a dated note explaining the error and the accurate information.
When the facts change
Fast-moving events can change repeatedly as agencies, investigators, and responders release stronger information.
It is a correction when…
The report misstated or overstated the available evidence at the time of publication. That includes presenting uncertain information as confirmed, attributing information incorrectly, or publishing a material fact that was not accurate.
It is an update when…
The original reporting accurately described what was known at the time, but later events changed the situation—for example, an agency revised a warning, a figure changed, an investigation developed, or new evidence became available.
Reporting and assessment are not the same.
A correction applies to factual reporting. My assessment is analysis based on the strongest information available at the time, and reasonable people may interpret the same verified facts differently.
A difference in judgment is not automatically a factual error. However, if an assessment relies on incorrect facts, I will correct those facts and reconsider the affected analysis. When later evidence materially changes an earlier assessment, I may update it and explain why.
What I will not do
- Quietly rewrite a material factual error and pretend it never happened.
- Leave a known material factual error in place after it has been verified.
- Treat disagreement with an assessment as automatically requiring a factual correction.
- Change accurate reporting solely because a source or subject dislikes how it was presented.
- Hide meaningful uncertainty while the underlying facts are still developing.
“Maintaining trust matters more than protecting an old version of a report.”
- 01If I get something wrong, I want to correct it.
- 02If the facts change, I want to update them.
- 03If something remains uncertain, I want to say so clearly.
Reader corrections
See something that needs correcting?
Send the report title or URL, the exact statement you believe is inaccurate, why it is wrong, and the strongest supporting source you have.