Editorial Standards

Workflow

Every published page passes through this workflow:

  1. Draft — an initial draft is produced against a source list. Drafts may be AI-assisted, but they always start from a human-compiled source list and a predefined schema.
  2. Human review — a human editor checks every factual claim against its cited source, applies the defamation and privacy checklists below, and signs off with name and date.
  3. Publish — only pages with status: published in their frontmatter are emitted by the build. The build fails if required fields, references, or sources are missing.

Defamation checklist

  • Every claim about a named real person is supported by at least one cited source.
  • Every criminal charge discussed on a Perpetrator page carries a typed legal status (convicted / charged-not-convicted / acquitted / uncharged / unknown).
  • We use precise language: charged with, pleaded guilty to, convicted of, acquitted of — never did or committed unsupported by a verdict.
  • "Sources say" and "reportedly" are not used without the underlying named publication as a citation.

Privacy checklist

  • No residential addresses, phone numbers, or personal contact information for any private person.
  • No names of minor children except where already extensively reported in public record.
  • No photographs of survivors or victims unless self-published by that person or sourced from official production press with explicit editorial approval on file.
  • No reconstruction of private moments, intimate details, or speculation about motive beyond what public record establishes.

Accessibility

The site targets WCAG 2.1 AA. Full AA conformance requires manual testing with assistive technologies; we run periodic audits. Any accessibility issue can be reported via the Contact page.

Retraction policy

When we retract a page — for defamation risk, accuracy failure, or a rights-holder request — the URL is preserved and the body is replaced with a retraction notice stating the reason and the date. The original record is kept in our content repository for audit.

Content warnings

Pages that describe homicide, sexual violence, stalking, domestic abuse, or child endangerment carry a visible content warning at the top. We describe violence only to the extent established by court record or official investigative reports, and never in gratuitous detail.

Corrections

See the Sources & Methodology page for the full policy. Corrections can be submitted via Contact.