Fact-Checking Policy

At CivicInsight.uk, accuracy is the foundation of trust in public-affairs journalism. Our fact-checking policy sets out the standards and procedures we follow to ensure every claim we publish is supported by reliable evidence. This policy applies to all editorial content – news, analysis, commentary and in-depth reports – unless clearly labelled as opinion or sponsored content.

What We Verify Before Publication

We verify all factual claims that appear in our articles, with particular attention to those involving:

Statistics and data (including polling, economic indicators, demographic figures)
Public policy proposals and legislation
Healthcare outcomes, funding and regulation
Education standards, school performance and budgets
Public spending, tax revenue and government accounts
Quotes attributed to named individuals or organisations
Historical events and institutional records

Where a claim cannot be verified to our satisfaction before publication, we either attribute it clearly to a named source, add a caveat explaining the uncertainty, or omit it entirely. We do not publish unverified assertions as fact.

Our Source Hierarchy

We rely on a clear hierarchy of sources to ensure the strongest possible evidence underpins each article:

Primary sources – original documents, official records, direct testimony, court judgments, legislation text.
Official records and public data – government reports, parliamentary records, datasets from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK government departments and local authorities.
Expert commentary – attributed to named specialists with relevant qualifications and institutional affiliation.
Clearly attributed references – second-hand claims and media reports are used only when the original source is explicitly cited. Our full source standards are described in our Sources & Standards page.

Whenever possible we link directly to the original document or dataset so readers can verify the evidence themselves.

Verification Workflow

Every article goes through a structured verification process before publication:

Writer sourcing – the author is responsible for recording all sources and providing copies of original material when requested.
Editor review – the relevant editor (Managing Editor Samuel Hartley, Public Affairs Editor Nadia Collins, Policy Correspondent Edward Miles or Community & Local Government Editor Hannah Brooks) checks key claims against available evidence and tests the logic of any argument relying on data.
Standards desk additional checks – for sensitive, high‑impact or heavily data‑dependent content, the Standards & Fact‑Checking Lead Michael Trent performs an independent review, including cross‑verification with official records and consultation with subject‑matter experts where appropriate.

No article is published unless it has passed at least the editor review stage. The standards desk may also be called in at any point during the editorial process if concerns about accuracy arise.

Use of Public Datasets

We make extensive use of publicly available datasets, including those from:

Office for National Statistics (ONS)
gov.uk and individual government departments
Parliamentary records (Hansard, committee reports)
UK Statistics Authority and regulatory bodies
Local government open data portals

We always cite the exact dataset, date accessed and any relevant methodological notes. Where limitations in the data exist – such as small sample sizes, revisions or definitional changes – we state these openly.

Handling Uncertainty

When evidence is incomplete, contradictory or open to interpretation, we do not pretend to certainty. Our approach is to:

Attribute – clearly name the source of a claim and any disagreements among reliable sources.
Caveat – explain the degree of confidence, methodological limitations or margin of error.
Omit – if a claim cannot be supported by a credible source or reasonable inference, we do not publish it.

We believe that acknowledging uncertainty strengthens, rather than weakens, the trust readers place in our journalism.

Corrections When We Get It Wrong

Despite our rigorous processes, mistakes can occur. When we identify an error – or when it is brought to our attention – we correct it promptly and transparently. Our full Corrections Policy explains how we make corrections, update articles and notify readers of significant changes.

Reader Reports

We encourage readers to help us maintain accuracy. If you believe a published article contains a factual error, please email our fact‑checking team at factcheck@civicinsight.uk. We review every report and respond with the outcome of our check. For general feedback, see our Contact page.

For further details on our overall editorial approach, please read our Editorial Policy. To learn more about the team responsible for these standards, visit Our Team.