The value of this publication is that a reader can trust the label on every entry. This page explains how an item earns its way onto the record and what each label means.
Every entry starts with a search for the primary record: court filings, agency findings, arrest and booking records, official dockets, and district documents. A claim that is supported by a primary record is published with that record named as the source. A claim that cannot be tied to a primary record is either attributed to the outlet that reported it or it does not run at all.
Every item on a subject's page carries exactly one label, and the label states what the documentation supports, not what we suspect.
Verified A court or agency record supports the item directly. We cite the record.
Pending A charge or complaint has been filed and has not been resolved. A charge is an accusation, not a conviction, and the entry says so.
Reported The item comes from news reporting we have not yet confirmed against a primary record. It is attributed to the outlet by name and stays marked this way until a primary record confirms or contradicts it.
Some matters are known only through journalism. We do not pretend otherwise and we do not launder a press account into a finding. When an item rests on reporting alone, the entry names the outlet, links the story, and is labeled Reported. If we later locate a primary record, the label changes and the entry says what changed.
Images on subject pages come from public records, and every photograph carries a caption naming its source. Documents referenced in an entry are linked where they are publicly available.
Anyone may send a tip, anonymously if they choose. A tip is a starting point, not a source. Nothing moves from tip to published record until it is confirmed against a primary record or attributed, published reporting. Unverifiable claims do not run.
The compiled timeline is the record: sourced, labeled, and open to correction. Where we publish our read of that record, it appears in a section explicitly marked Editorial, and it is grounded only in the sourced facts disclosed on the same page.
