Dissenting Citizen aims to get things right.
News develops quickly, sources can be incomplete and mistakes can happen. When we identify a material factual error, our responsibility is to correct it clearly rather than defend it because it has already been published.
Corrections
A correction is appropriate when an article contains a material factual error.
We will correct the relevant text as soon as reasonably practicable after establishing that it is wrong.
Where the error materially affected the article or a reader’s understanding of it, we will add a correction note explaining what was changed.
We do not normally add a correction note for insignificant spelling, grammar, formatting or typographical changes that do not alter meaning.
Clarifications
Sometimes an article may be factually accurate but capable of giving a misleading or incomplete impression.
Where additional wording is necessary to make the meaning materially clearer, we may update the article and add a clarification where appropriate.
Developing stories
An article becoming outdated is not necessarily an error.
News develops. New information may emerge after publication, official accounts may change and claims initially reported accurately may later be disproved.
Where a significant development materially changes the story, we may update the original article, add an editor’s note or publish a new article explaining what has changed.
Updates should not silently rewrite history. Where the change is material, readers should be able to understand that new information emerged after the original publication.
Opinion and analysis
Opinion can change. Facts cannot.
We do not issue corrections merely because somebody disagrees with an argument or conclusion in The Dissent or another analysis article.
We will correct factual errors contained within opinion and analysis just as we would in a news report.
If evidence emerges that materially undermines an argument, we may update the article, add an editor’s note or revisit the issue in subsequent reporting or analysis.
Headlines, images and social posts
Corrections are not limited to article body text.
Where a material error appears in a headline, image caption, social-media post or other publication material, we will correct it where the platform allows.
Where a social-media post containing a significant factual error cannot reasonably be edited, we may delete it and publish corrected information.
Raising a correction
Readers are encouraged to tell us when they believe something is wrong.
Please identify:
- the article concerned;
- the statement you believe is incorrect;
- why you believe it is incorrect; and
- any source or evidence supporting the correction.
[ Contact Dissenting Citizen → ]
We will consider the evidence rather than whether the person raising the issue agrees with our editorial position.
Disagreements are not corrections
A correction process should not become a mechanism for removing accurate information because it is inconvenient, disputed or unpopular.
We will not change accurate reporting merely because a person, company, institution or campaign group objects to it.
Equally, we will not preserve inaccurate reporting merely because correcting it is inconvenient to us.
The principle
Credibility does not come from never making a mistake.
It comes from caring enough about the record to correct one.