TECH LITTLE BRAWTAGLOBAL TECHNOLOGY NEWSROOM & LEARNING
LESSON 4 OF 4 / 8 MINUTES

Corrections should preserve the history

Your objectiveExplain how an update can improve an article without hiding the earlier error.

Understand the idea.

A correction changes a claim that readers may already have seen. A useful record says what changed, when and why. Quietly replacing a sentence can make it difficult for a reader to understand the difference between a developing story and an error in the earlier version.

MAKE IT CONCRETE

A worked example.

An article used the announcement date as the date of the underlying event. The corrected article separates those times and explains the earlier mismatch. The revision record preserves the previous version and the reason for changing it.

Try the reasoning.

Write a two-sentence correction notice for that scenario. Identify the corrected fact without repeating an unsupported conclusion as though it were still true.

Which record best supports an accountable correction?

Carry it into practice.

Link a correction request to a specific article and avoid including secrets or unnecessary personal data.

Read the reference: IETF · HTTP semantics ↗