Factual Accuracy and Source Fidelity
Citizen.ca pursues factual accuracy through faithful representation and careful evaluation of sources.
Source fidelity means that a knowledge item accurately represents its cited sources without misleading quotation, omission, or interpretation. Factual accuracy means that the item accurately describes the world, events, or circumstances concerned.
Our source checks establish what the available sources support. They do not guarantee that every statement is conclusively true. Sources may be incomplete, mistaken, disputed, or superseded by new evidence. Several sources may repeat the same error. We assess credibility, relevance and independence as well as fidelity. Some historical questions and interpretations cannot be settled conclusively.
Evidence-based challenges
When a challenge provides relevant evidence or a specific, reasoned explanation of a possible error, an administrator assesses it. If it raises a credible unresolved concern, the item is visibly marked “Factual accuracy challenged — under review”, with the review status “Evidence-based challenge under review.” This mark indicates an unresolved concern, not a finding that the item is false. Mere disagreement or the number of complaints does not establish an error.
The public notice explains the disputed claim and relevant evidence without unnecessarily identifying the person raising the concern. Each knowledge item has a separate Factual accuracy review status: No recorded challenge, Evidence-based challenge under review, or Review completed. No recorded challenge is not proof of factual accuracy.
Following review, Citizen.ca may correct, qualify, retain, or withdraw the item. The outcome, reasons, evidence links and review date are recorded. Review history is retained; completing a review does not erase a previous challenge. Where wording changes after a completed review, the notice identifies that the recorded review concerned earlier wording.
Source fidelity and factual-accuracy review are separate. An item can faithfully represent a source while its factual accuracy is challenged. “Checked against cited sources” is a source-fidelity label, not a truth guarantee, government certification or independent human audit. Initial source checks remain explicitly AI-assisted.
Language versions and quizzes
Review actions normally apply to the linked language versions present at the time of review. A language-specific error may be reviewed separately; administrators must explain that scope and record the outcome for each affected version. Administrators must check the scope of the concern in both languages and carry unresolved concerns into any new translation before publication. Quiz questions depending on a challenged claim are withheld during review. After resolution they require fresh editorial review and approval before returning; existing rules also withhold questions when supporting facts, sources or publication status change.
For photo-credit corrections, factual concerns or removal requests, use our private on-site report form. Reports go directly to administrators without relying on email. Include the page URL, precise concern and supporting information; do not send passwords or unnecessary personal data. A report does not automatically mark an item as challenged.
A record should let you inspect both the claim and the evidence. Verification is a process with a date and a scope, not a decorative badge or a promise of infallibility.
What “checked against cited sources” means
The claim was checked against the cited primary source or institutional reference on the date shown. Each record gives a short statement, a context note, named sources, and a stable reference. Initial source checks were AI-assisted; the label does not imply an independent human audit, government approval, or that every possible source agrees.
What changes after an edit
Editing the claim, title, source list, or scope invalidates its source-check status until an editor checks that version again. A quiz that depends on an altered, unpublished, or unverified record hides its questions until review. A source website can change without notifying us; the check date makes the limit of the review visible.
Distinguish a fact from an interpretation
Dates, institutional structures, and official designations can often be stated narrowly. Identity, historical meaning, and contested interpretations need attribution, context, and sometimes multiple sources. We do not treat an opinion as verified simply because it appears in a source.
Preserve and make inspectable
Knowledge and quizzes have separate pages. Records have stable IDs and source references, WordPress revision history, and daily local backups. A public structured export supplies the claims, languages, topics, verification dates, and citations for digital use. Local backups are not a complete off-server preservation strategy; that remains to be configured.
Sources and photographs
The initial collection uses Canadian public institutions and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation as references. Photographs illustrate the subject; a modern image is not evidence of a historical event. Photo captions identify context and link to the creator, source, and reuse license. Source material retains its own rights and conditions; check these when reusing it.
Quizzes are optional
Each question points to one or more knowledge records. Questions are reviewed before publication, can be retried, and do not create a learner profile. They are not an official citizenship examination.
Contributors and editorial responsibility
Every knowledge item has a contributor, defaulting to Citizen.ca if none is specified, and a separate choice to show or hide the name. Members explicitly select public visibility; a hidden name is not replaced by an account username. Contributor attribution acknowledges a contribution, not ownership of Canadian facts, source verification, a qualification, government endorsement, or sole authorship. Administrators review the exact contributor name and visibility together with the proposed claim, sources, and photograph before approval. Changing those submission details invalidates an open review. Contributor changes alone do not certify or alter the supporting factual evidence. Respect the visibility choice in translations and reuse; retain all independently required photo and source credits.
Public data access and original-text reuse
Citizen.ca provides public REST APIs, JSON/JSONL downloads, a change/withdrawal feed and crawler discovery for human readers, search engines and AI agents. Our original summaries, long-form text and annotations explicitly marked as Citizen.ca-owned are offered under CC BY 4.0: credit the record and sources, link to the licence and identify changes. Already-granted permissions remain available to compliant users. Member-owned text without separate permission, third-party sources, photos and logos are not included in this text licence. Exported records preserve source-fidelity and factual-accuracy review distinctions; an export does not certify truth. Read the Data Access documentation.
Knowledge cards show a brief summary. Optional long-form text appears only on the opened record page and in public data exports. Source checks cover both; a change to long-form text invalidates the checked version and dependent quiz approval.