Methodology

Evidence Tiers

Tier APrimary/Official Sources

  • Enacted laws and signed bills
  • Official roll-call votes
  • Executive orders and official registers
  • Verified court judgments and orders
  • Inspector General reports
  • Official agency reports and transcripts
  • Official financial disclosures

Tier BHigh-Quality Secondary Sources

  • Reputable outlets with transparent corrections policies
  • Reputable nonpartisan fact-checkers
  • Academic/think tank reports WITH citations to underlying documents

Tier C: Excluded Sources

  • Anonymous-only allegations
  • Social media rumors
  • "Sources say" without underlying documentation

Verification Rules

A record may be marked as VERIFIED only if:

  • It has ≥1 Tier A source, OR
  • It has ≥2 independent Tier B sources AND both cite underlying documents

Anything else stays PENDING (admin-visible only).

Neutrality Principles

  • No editorial judgment or sentiment scoring
  • No "good/bad" labels or colored framing
  • Present verified facts with dates, context, and sources
  • Two neutral ledgers: Actions & Outcomes and Findings & Accountability
  • Let users decide what the facts mean

Two Ledgers (Equal Prominence)

Actions & Outcomes

Votes, bills, executive actions, hearings, official statements (labeled), policy implementations where traceable.

Findings & Accountability

Court outcomes, ethics findings, inspector general reports, sanctions, official reprimands, proven disclosure violations.

AI Summaries & Q&A

All AI-generated content follows strict rules:

  • Based ONLY on stored, verified PolitFax records
  • Must cite specific ClaimRecord IDs used
  • Must include disclaimer about data limitations
  • No speculation or inference beyond stored records
  • Strictly neutral language with no editorial judgment

Financial Disclosures & Net Worth

Financial information is stored as time-bounded entries:

  • Always show as-of date or filing year
  • Show range if disclosed as range
  • Label methodology: disclosed_range | estimated | calculated_from_assets
  • Never present estimates as official disclosures
  • Always cite sources