EDITORIAL METHOD
A transparent standard for sources, locations, identities and uncertainty.
Every signal links to the reporting or statement used for the record. We prefer primary documents, established wire services, public-interest agencies and strong field reporting. Syndications of the same report are not independent confirmation, and a source link provides traceability—not endorsement or proof.
Claims, disputed attribution and changing casualty figures remain attributed. Verification notes say what a source observed, what an authority alleged, whether reporting is single-source or corroborated, and what remains unresolved. A high-priority report can still carry substantial uncertainty.
We use the event time when a reliable source provides it. If only a date, time range, report time or publication time is known, the record and its verification note identify that approximation rather than presenting it as an exact occurrence time. Displayed times use UTC.
Pins use the least precise useful public location, normally a city, district or regional centroid—not a tactical coordinate. We withhold or delay locations that could expose people, active operations, shelters, medical sites, aid or evacuation routes, or other sensitive infrastructure.
Country, region and community are overlapping discovery lenses. The community catalogue is evolving and non-exhaustive. A label is used only when reliable reporting makes it explicit and materially relevant; identity is never inferred from geography, a name, language, religion, presumed majority or political actor.
There is no single uncontested boundary for the Middle East. Our core scope is joined by Afghanistan, the South Caucasus and Cyprus when a development has a material connection through diplomacy, migration, security, trade, energy or the Eastern Mediterranean. Inclusion is an editorial coverage decision, not a territorial claim.
Critical means immediate mass harm or severe public-safety danger. High means urgent. Watch means a material development worth following. Context covers less urgent news. These labels describe the event's urgency when reported, not its certainty or the worth of the people affected. An older urgent story may no longer describe current conditions.
Automated research is scheduled every two hours and can publish source-linked updates. This is not a continuously staffed newsroom, and publication does not mean a person has reviewed each story. Reports needing further checks may be held privately for editorial review. Scheduled checks can be delayed or missed.
Single source means one reporting chain. Attributed claim means a statement remains assigned to its source. Primary source means a direct document or statement, not independent proof of its claims. Corroborated reporting means independent reporting supports a stated part of the account; read the note for limits. Disputed account means a material disagreement remains.
The snapshot timestamp identifies the current published copy, not the last research check or the time every event occurred. Republishing a snapshot does not necessarily mean a new story was added. A warning appears when that copy is over six hours old. During a connection problem, a saved copy stays readable with its original timestamp. It may miss later corrections, withdrawals or developments.
Report an error or missing context. Material changes should stay on the original story with a dated explanation and the remaining uncertainty. Removing a superseded story should not hide a correction. Reader reports go to a private editorial inbox; they do not automatically change the news.