The standard
Sox News publishes a claim when it can show why the claim is true. The test is documentary where a document exists, and corroborative where it does not.
Hierarchy of sources
- Primary record. Legislation, court filings, regulatory orders, official statistics, company filings, transcripts, contracts and datasets. Preferred in all cases, and linked wherever the source permits.
- First hand testimony. A named participant or eyewitness, on the record, with their standing to know explained.
- Established reporting. Original work by a named outlet, credited and linked, used where we cannot reach the primary record ourselves.
- Expert interpretation. A qualified analyst whose relevant interests are stated.
Aggregator posts, anonymous accounts and unsourced social claims are leads. They are never sources.
Verification steps
Before publication, the accountable editor checks that:
- Every number traces to a named source with a date and a unit.
- Every quotation matches the transcript, the recording or the written statement.
- Every document is what it claims to be, checked against the issuing body where possible.
- Every image is what the caption says it is, with its provenance and rights recorded.
- Any claim about a person's conduct has been put to that person.
- Any single sourced claim of consequence is flagged to the editor and either corroborated or attributed openly.
Anonymous sources
Anonymity is granted where the information is of clear public interest, where it cannot reasonably be obtained on the record, and where the source faces a real risk. Where it is granted:
- The accountable editor knows the identity of the source.
- The piece explains the source's standing to know and the general reason for anonymity.
- An anonymous claim about a person's conduct is corroborated before publication.
Statistics and modelling
- Data is described with its collection method, its period, its geography and its known limits.
- Seasonal adjustment, real terms conversion and index rebasing are stated when applied.
- Forecasts are attributed to whoever produced them, with the assumptions that drive them.
- Correlation is described as correlation.
Images and the visual record
Images are sourced with a recorded licence, creator, licence URL and rights status through the Sox News image rights register. Illustrative artwork is captioned as illustrative. AI assisted artwork is credited to the Sox News Visual Desk and identified as AI assisted, as set out in the AI use policy.
Corrections feed back into sourcing
Every correction is reviewed for the sourcing failure that allowed it. Where a class of source proves unreliable, it is dropped.
Sox News is published by Sox Media LLC, a privately held Nevada limited liability company funded by private capital. Statutory company information is filed with the Nevada Secretary of State. No government, political party, foreign state, advertiser, sponsor, donor network, union, advocacy organisation or think tank controls editorial decisions at Sox News.