Editorial policy
Last updated October 2026
How we rate sources
- A — an official health authority, government or international organisation speaking through its own channel.
- A− — an official statement reported by a major news organisation.
- B — a news organisation’s own reporting.
- C — anything else, including social media accounts we have not verified as official.
Case counts, maps and statistics use only information confirmed by officials. Every published item links to its sources, and we keep archived copies.
How we handle rumours
We track unverified reports internally instead of discarding them, because early reports sometimes turn out to be true. We publish a rumour only when it is already widely circulating, and then as a fact check that leads with the facts. We do not reproduce images that contain personal data.
An official denial is not the same as proof that a report is false. We label denials as “Denied by officials” and keep the claim open if new evidence appears.
Language
We describe single suspected cases as cases, not outbreaks, unless officials say otherwise. We do not use nationality or ethnicity to describe a supposed source of infection.
AI
AI helps us find, translate and summarise reports. Editors review anything about human cases, deaths or official measures before it is published.