Building Community Trust Through Corrections

Every community can publish something incomplete or inaccurate. Trust depends less on never making mistakes than on responding to them honestly.

Make the correction easy to find. Readers should not have to compare several versions to discover that information changed.

State what was wrong and what is now correct. Clear wording prevents a correction from creating new uncertainty.

Explain the effect when necessary. Members may need to know whether a decision, action, or recommendation was affected.

Credit the person who identified the issue when appropriate. Reporting a problem is a useful contribution to shared quality.

Avoid humiliating the original contributor. The goal is to improve information and systems, not discourage people from contributing.

Review how the error occurred. A process change, clearer review, or better source note may prevent the same problem from returning.