Methodology

The verbatim gate

Quote candidates are found mechanically: software locates text inside quotation marks in the source article. Language models never write, edit, complete, or paraphrase quote text. Before a quote is published, it is string-matched against the source article's text. If the words are not an exact substring of the source, the quote is discarded. The only normalization permitted is folding typographic quote marks and collapsing whitespace. No case changes, no punctuation edits, no word changes.

Attribution

A quote is attributed to a speaker only when the source article clearly attributes it. Attribution follows the article's wording. Quotes attributed by a single outlet are marked single-source; when the same words appear in multiple outlets' reporting, the source count reflects that.

Two dates, always

The date something was said is not the date it was reported. We track both, and never guess: when the source does not state when words were spoken, we say so.

Facts

Event facts are distilled claims, each mapped to at least one supporting sentence that passes the same exact-substring verification against the source article. A claim without a verified source does not ship.

Corrections

If a quote is misattributed or a fact is wrong, we remove it and note the correction. Report errors to [email protected].