Content Verification Standards

The SHO#Dnipro Content Verification Standards describe the practical steps the newsroom uses to check information. They complement our Fact-Checking Policy and apply to news, explainers, photos, videos, documents and social media posts.

1. Basic checks before publication

• We identify the primary source: a document, official announcement, witness, expert or direct comment.
• We check the key facts: who, what, where, when, why it matters and who is affected.
• We verify dates, names, addresses, positions, numbers, links and the context of quotes.
• We separate confirmed facts from assumptions, assessments and preliminary information.

2. Urgent news

In situations involving safety, shelling, explosions, accidents, outages or traffic closures, we may quickly publish the confirmed part of the information. Unverified details are marked as being clarified or are not published until confirmed.

3. Photos and videos

• We check the publication source, date, place, description and original context.
• We compare details with maps, open data, official announcements and other photos or videos from the scene.
• We do not use visual content if its origin or relevance cannot be explained to readers.

4. Social media and reader reports

Posts from social media, chats or readers are not treated as automatically confirmed. We check the author, time, place, additional confirmations and the possible risk of spreading panic or harming people.

5. Documents and data

We check documents by origin, date, completeness, signatures, details and consistency with other open data. If data is complex or incomplete, we explain the limits and do not draw conclusions that do not follow directly from it.

6. Updates after publication

When new confirmed information appears, the story is updated. If a mistake is found, we act according to our Corrections Policy and explain significant changes to readers.