factplay.xyz

Editorial standards

How we source, check, and write.

Short doesn't mean loose. These are the rules every factplay story follows before it reaches the feed.

01 Sourcing

Every story starts as close to the original work as we can get. In practice that means:

  • Primary material first — the peer-reviewed paper, the preprint, the official launch, or the institution's own announcement.
  • Established desks for context — we read science and technology coverage from outlets such as ScienceDaily, Science News, SciTechDaily, CNBC, Tom's Guide and BGR to confirm details and frame why a finding matters.
  • Named, not vague — each card credits where the fact came from so you can follow it back to the source yourself.

02 Fact-checking

Before a story ships, we confirm the core claim against the primary source rather than a secondhand summary. Numbers, names, dates and the central result are checked against the original. If two reputable sources disagree, we either reconcile the difference or say plainly that it's unsettled.

We don't publish a claim we can't trace to something we'd be comfortable showing you.

03 Writing & headlines

The whole point of factplay is a story you can finish in under a minute, so we write tight. But brevity never comes at the cost of accuracy.

  • Headlines describe what actually happened — no cliffhangers, no "you won't believe."
  • Jargon gets translated into plain language, or it gets cut.
  • If the headline implies it, the body has to back it up.

04 Handling uncertainty

Science moves in drafts. A single study is a data point, not a verdict. When a result is early, preliminary, based on a small sample, or not yet peer-reviewed, we label it that way instead of presenting it as settled fact.

A surprising claim gets a careful word, not a bigger font. "May," "early evidence," and "researchers suggest" are doing real work when we use them.

05 Use of AI

We may use software tools, including AI, to help scan sources and draft summaries — but a person is responsible for every story that publishes. AI never gets the final word on what's true, and we don't publish AI-written claims that haven't been checked against a real source by a human.

06 Corrections

When we get something wrong, we fix it openly. Corrected stories carry a note saying what changed and when. Spotted an error? Email corrections@factplay.xyz with the line and the source, and we'll act quickly.

07 Independence

Our coverage decisions are ours alone. If a story ever involves a partner, advertiser, or sponsor, we'll disclose that relationship in the open. What we choose to cover is driven by what's true and interesting — never by who's paying.

Questions about any of this? Get in touch.