What our verdicts mean

Verdicts describe a particular claim and the evidence considered. They are not labels for a person or a permanent judgement on a source.

The five labels

• False: the central factual statement conflicts with the evidence examined.
• Misleading: the presentation encourages a conclusion the evidence does not support.
• Missing context: important omitted information materially changes the interpretation.
• Unsupported: adequate evidence for the claim has not been provided or found.
• Accurate: the central statement is supported within its stated scope.

Read beyond the badge

The explanation should identify the exact claim, show the reasoning, and acknowledge limits. Unsupported does not mean false, and accurate does not mean every possible interpretation is justified.

When evidence changes

A useful assessment can be revised. Keep track of what changed and why, rather than treating a label as the last word on a subject.