Evidence Methodology
Sources are logged, not piled. Each citation on an evidence ledger carries a tier. The tier is about what the document is, not about how exciting it is.
Tier 1 — Primary official record
A document or dataset issued by the institution whose action is at issue, or by a court of record. Examples: a signed presidential instrument as published; the Federal Register; the Congressional Record; a certified docket, judgment, or plea; an official transcript; an authenticated agency dataset; a record produced under FOIA or a statutory equivalent.
Tier 1 answers “what was done, by whom, in what instrument?” It does not, by itself, settle motive.
Tier 2 — Independent corroboration
A second, independent source that confirms a material element of the claim, or a qualified analysis of Tier 1 records that does not merely restated the actor’s press line. Contemporaneous independent reporting that is itself grounded in primary documents may sit here. A second copy of the same press release does not.
High-risk and central claims require Tier 1 plus independent corroboration when that corroboration is available. If it is not, the entry must say so and must not paper over the gap with adjectives.
Tier 3 — Attributed allegation
A claim that a named source made on the record, or a filing that asserts facts without a finding. The honest sentence is “X alleged Y on date Z,” not “Y happened.” Complaints, unadjudicated charging documents, and on-the-record accusations live here until a record moves them.
Tier 4 — Lead discovery
Tips, social posts, Reddit threads, anonymous messages, and other unverified pointers. Reddit is lead discovery only, never proof. Tier 4 may start reporting. It may not support a published assertion. A log entry that leans on Tier 4 for a central claim is not ready, and a checker who PASSes it has failed the check.
How the ledger should read
The public Evidence Ledger on an entry lists identifier, tier, publisher, date, and what the source actually shows — not what the desk wishes it showed. Broken links get an archived copy when one exists. If a source cannot be shown, the claim that depended on it does not ship.
What we do not do with sources
- Quote a social thread as if it were a record.
- Treat a partisan clip as corroboration of itself.
- Hide a weak source behind a stronger one in the same footnote.
- Invent identifiers, dockets, or fact-check IDs to make a draft look dressed.