How We Check Facts

An explainer is only useful if the facts underneath it hold. These are the habits we follow when researching a stand, along with what happens when we get something wrong.

Go to the source

Our first stop is the material closest to the thing being described. For a device, that means the manufacturer's manual or support pages. For a service, it means the provider's own terms, fee schedules and help articles. For rules that affect consumers or small businesses, it means the public pages published by the relevant regulator or government body. Secondary write-ups can help us spot what to look for, but we try not to rely on them for the facts themselves.

No numbers without a footing

Figures are persuasive, which is exactly why we handle them carefully. If we cannot trace a statistic to a source we trust, it stays out of the article. We would rather describe a pattern in words, or say that reliable data is not available, than pass along a percentage that nobody can verify. The same goes for quotes and claims about studies.

Marking what can change

Prices, plan features, software versions and regulations move. When an article depends on a detail like that, we try to make the time frame clear, for example by noting the year in a title or flagging that a provider may have changed its terms since. Treat any such detail as a prompt to check the current version yourself.

Reading it back

Before a stand opens, we reread it against the sources with one question in mind: would a careful reader following these steps end up where the article says they will? Steps that cannot be confirmed are reworded or removed.

When we get it wrong

• Send the page address and the passage in question through the contact page.
• We look at the original source again and check your point.
• If the article is wrong or misleading, we correct the text.

For the wider editorial approach that these checks sit inside, see how we put articles together.