Corrections Policy

How we handle being wrong

We will get things wrong. The measure of a publication is not whether it makes errors but what it does next.

Reporting an error

Use the contact page, choose corrections, and tell us the page, the specific claim and why it is wrong. A source helps but is not required. Reports about living people are prioritised.

What we do

• Factual error. Corrected, and a dated correction note is added at the foot of the article stating what was wrong and what it now says. The original error is described rather than silently erased.
• Significant error. If the error changes the meaning of the piece, the note goes at the top.
• Minor fixes. Typography, spelling and broken links are fixed without a note.
• Clarification. Where something was accurate but misleading, we add a clarification rather than claim we were right.
• Removal. Reserved for material that is unfixable or unfair to a living person. Removal is itself recorded.

Timescales and transparency

We aim to acknowledge a report within a few working days and to resolve straightforward corrections quickly. Correction notes stay on the page permanently. We do not remove them once the article is updated, because the note is the point.