01
Evidence and attribution
Keep the originating reporting, document, or data source visible and describe its limits.
Editorial standards
How we earn trust
These standards guide our sourcing, context, analysis, automation, and corrections.
Reader promise
Three principles
Evidence, attribution, and interpretation should always be easy to tell apart.
02
Context before certainty
Explain what is known, what is contested, and which development could change the assessment.
03
Regional agency
Center the priorities and political agency of the people and institutions making the decision.
Standards for every format
These checks cover briefs, explainers, trackers, maps, newsletters, and original reporting.
Standard 01
Start with the people making the decision
Explain what regional governments, communities, institutions, and businesses are trying to do before framing their choices through competition among larger powers.
Publication checks
- Use local and primary sources when they are available and material
- Separate a government's stated position from IndoPac's analysis of its effects
- Do not treat smaller states as passive terrain for someone else's strategy
Standard 02
Keep the source visible
Headlines, documents, and reported claims should stay clearly tied to the publisher or institution that produced them.
Publication checks
- Link directly to originating reporting or the relevant primary document
- Name the source of contested claims, estimates, and anonymous assessments
- Do not reproduce source reporting in a way that substitutes for the original work
Standard 03
Label each kind of work
Readers should know whether a page organizes outside reporting, adds context, presents analysis, or publishes an opinion.
Publication checks
- Use clear content labels and visible bylines
- Reserve factual headlines for claims the body and cited sources support
- Label opinion and disclose relevant author affiliations or interests
Standard 04
Use automation with oversight
IndoPac automates feed collection, duplicate removal, and topic and region tags. Those systems can miss context or apply the wrong label.
Publication checks
- Keep the originating source and timestamp visible
- Treat generated tags and summaries as revisable editorial metadata
- Correct consequential classification errors rather than allowing automation to harden them into fact
Standard 05
Be clear about uncertainty
Security news often starts with interested parties, incomplete imagery, or conflicting figures. Speed does not remove the need for qualification.
Publication checks
- Say what is confirmed, what is attributed, and what remains unknown
- Avoid casualty, control, readiness, or intent claims that lack adequate sourcing
- Update the timestamp and correction record when the substance changes
Standard 06
Name places without taking sides
Directory groups, maps, and familiar English names help readers navigate. They do not declare recognition, constitutional status, or the validity of a territorial claim.
Publication checks
- Attribute disputed claims and identify alternative names when they are material
- Distinguish claimed territory, administered territory, and internationally recognized boundaries
- Avoid flags, maps, or shorthand that silently convert one party's position into house fact
Standard 07
Correct the record clearly
Minor presentation fixes and material errors are different. A correction should be easy to find and explain what changed without erasing the record.
Publication checks
- Correct the page itself and preserve a dated note for material changes
- Do not use an update label to conceal a correction
- Record consequential corrections in the public corrections log
Standard 08
Show time and scope clearly
Readers should know when a report appeared and whether a page is live coverage, a background guide, or a dated edition.
Publication checks
- Display publication and update times with a clear time-zone context
- Do not describe an evergreen guide as breaking news
- Archive dated editions while allowing explainers and directories to be revised
Follow the evidence trail
See the work behind the coverage.
Review our sources, methodology, and corrections policy.