How evidence notes work

Evidence notes describe what the available evidence says about one specific claim. They are not verdicts on people, and they never lead to an account sanction by themselves.

What the categories mean

• Supported by available evidence: relevant evidence supports the claim within its stated scope.
• Contradicted by available evidence: relevant evidence contradicts the claim within its stated scope.
• Insufficient evidence: the available evidence does not justify a conclusion.
• Mixed / depends on scope: different parts or readings of the claim have different support.
• Opinion or value judgment: the statement mainly expresses a preference or a judgment about values.
• Prediction – not yet assessable: the outcome has not happened yet or cannot be evaluated yet.

A claim nobody has reviewed is not an unsupported claim. A challenge does not cancel a note; the note stands until a reviewer revises or withdraws it.

How a note is made

1. A member asks for a claim to be reviewed, or an evidence reviewer picks one.
2. The reviewer quotes the claim's exact wording from the version of the post or comment it appears in.
3. They record each source: who published it, when, the relevant passage, and whether the passage was checked. Several reports that repeat one underlying source count as one source.
4. They state the scope (population, place, time period, definitions), the limitations and the open questions.
5. A second evidence reviewer, who is neither the note's author nor the author of the post, checks it and publishes it.

A note that finds a claim supported, contradicted or mixed must cite at least one checked source pointing that way. A source that could not be accessed is shown as unavailable, never as verified.

When the post changes

A note belongs to the exact version of the post or comment it quoted. If the post is edited, the note is shown as a note on an earlier version, until a reviewer checks the new wording. Editing a post never moves an old note onto new words, and never makes a note disappear.

Challenges

Anyone can submit evidence, request a correction or appeal a note. Challenges are resolved by an evidence reviewer who did not write the note. An accepted challenge leads to a new published version; earlier versions remain visible with their dates.

Automation

In this first phase every note is written and reviewed by people. Any future AI-drafted note will be labelled as a draft and will not be published without human review.