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Evidence Standard

PUBLISHED · v1.0

The standard is public, so that anyone can hold the Protocol to it. It is based on method, not on identity — the same sources qualify no matter who cites them.

Substantiation only counts when it can be verified. Every source we cite, and every source we ask a subject to cite, must meet a public, methodology-based standard.

Design principle

The standard is deliberately method-based, not identity-based. A source qualifies because of how it produces its claims — transparent method, published corrections, primary records — not because of the politics of the institution behind it. That is why the list of qualifying research organizations spans the aisle.

§01Automatic qualifying sources

Federal data agencies

  • CBO
  • BLS
  • Census
  • CDC
  • NIH
  • GAO
  • HHS
  • Treasury
  • DOJ
  • DoD
  • NOAA
  • Federal Reserve

Peer-reviewed research

  • Journals with editorial peer review
  • Replicated primary studies
  • Systematic reviews & meta-analyses

Research organizations

  • KFF
  • Pew
  • Brookings
  • RAND
  • Urban Institute
  • Heritage
  • AEI
  • Cato

Corrections-process journalism

  • AP
  • Reuters
  • Comparable outlets with published corrections policies

Official records

  • Court filings & rulings
  • Legislative records
  • Agency primary documents

Primary statements

  • On-record statements from named parties
  • Direct, attributable source material
§02What does not qualify

A standard is only as honest as its exclusions. These do not meet the bar, and we say so plainly.

Unsourced aggregation

Screenshots, viral graphics, and posts that assert a figure without a traceable origin. A claim cannot substantiate itself.

Advocacy without method

Materials produced to persuade, where the methodology is unstated or unavailable for inspection. Position papers are not evidence of fact.

Predictions and projections

Forecasts of what may happen, offered as counts of what did. A projection is not a measurement.

Anonymous attribution

Claims sourced to unnamed insiders or authorities that cannot be checked by a reader. If it cannot be verified, it does not qualify.

Publication & versioning

This standard is versioned and published. When it changes, the change is dated and the prior version is preserved.

Findings cite the version of the standard in force at the time of closure. A public standard that can be revised in the dark is no standard at all — so revisions are part of the record.

Current version · v1.0 · 2026

See the standard applied