Status badges
- Verified means independently corroborated, not "definitely true". Verified items still get corrected.
- Partial means some elements are corroborated and others are not. Casualty figures in active conflict often sit here.
- Unverified means a single source has reported it. The existence of the claim is real; the claim itself may not survive verification.
- Disputed means independent sources directly contradict each other. The contradiction itself is a fact.
Confidence ratings
Confidence is separate from verification. Two verified items can sit at high and low confidence respectively. Confidence describes the strength of the evidence — primary sources, multiple independent reports, traceable OSINT — not the social proof of repetition.
Source counts
A source count of 12 is less impressive than it sounds if all twelve are running the same wire story. The relevant figure is the independent source count — newsrooms that could plausibly have reported separately.
Last-updated timestamps
A fresh timestamp is not the same as fresh information. A page that auto-refreshes every minute can look live while reflecting a feed that has been silent for hours. Look for the timestamp on the underlying data, not on the page render.