What a check represents

A verdict is about a statement

• A verdict applies to one statement, as the speaker worded it, on the date it was made. It is assessed against the evidence available when the check's evidence was last reviewed; each check shows that date.
• It is not a judgement of a person, an organisation, a party or a government as a whole, and not a judgement of anyone's motives or good faith. Nothing on this site says anyone acted in bad faith unless documents show it.
• Not substantiated does not mean false. It means the evidence offered or available does not show the claim as stated. It may be true under some conditions.
• Misleading and Contradicted are given only on documents or data that can be shown, and each such check lists them.
• A check is not legal advice and not the finding of a court or regulator. Where a matter is before a court or tribunal, checks keep to the science and the public record.

Drafts, published checks and candidates

Draft

The analysis is complete but not yet final. Where the check finds the claim Not substantiated, Misleading or Contradicted, the body concerned has not yet had the chance to reply; a check that finds a claim supported needs no reply. The verdict may change after a response or new evidence. Drafts are labelled as such on every page.

Published

The check is final. Where a right of reply applied, that step is complete and any response is published alongside the check.

Not yet checked

A public statement has been recorded as a candidate. No assessment has been made, and listing it implies nothing about whether it is accurate.

What the numbers, links and map show

• Counts reflect selection, not accuracy. The number of claims about a body, party or topic shows which statements were chosen for checking. The set is not a representative sample of anyone's statements, and it does not measure how often anyone is right.
• Links between claims are leads, not accusations. A line on the map marks a shared mechanism, driver or pattern worth examining. It does not claim that one statement caused another. Pattern tags describe ways a statement can mislead; they are provisional until finished reports confirm them.
• Places are approximate. A claim is pinned to the site it concerns, or, for national claims, to the institution that made it.

Sources and archives

Each check lists its sources. Because pages change or disappear, Miżien keeps archived copies where it can, and each claim page says when a source has not yet been archived. Quoted statements, articles and papers remain the property of their authors and publishers.

How checks are made

Research, calculations and drafting are assisted by AI tools. Every check is reviewed by a human maintainer, who decides what is published and is accountable for it. The method is set out in How a verdict is reached.

Errors and disagreement

Errors are corrected openly: each check carries a version number and a change log, and a correction that changes a verdict, a figure or an attribution is recorded with its date. To contest a check, use the Contest a verdict form and include the evidence. See the corrections policy.

Reuse

Reports, data and methodology are licensed CC BY 4.0. When citing a check, give its ID, version and date. The underlying data and code are in the public repository.