We get things wrong. When we do, we correct them on the piece itself rather than quietly editing them out, and we say what changed.
How to tell us
Use the contact page and choose Correction. Give us a link to the piece and the line you are querying; if you can point at a source, point at it — it makes the check faster, and we would rather be corrected quickly than defended slowly.
What happens next
- We aim to acknowledge correction requests within two working days, whether or not we agree yet.
- We check it against the source, and against whoever reported it.
- If it is wrong, we fix the piece and add a note at the foot of it saying what was changed and when.
- If it is not wrong, we write back and say why.
What we correct
Errors of fact: names, dates, titles, attributions, numbers, and anything that misrepresents what somebody said or did. A correction is not a right of reply, and disagreeing with a review is not a correction — but if a review states something untrue about the work, that is.
Serious errors
Where an error changed the meaning of a piece, the note goes at the top rather than the foot, and the piece keeps it.
Taking something down
Our presumption is against removal: the record of what we published is part of what makes the rest of it worth reading, and we do not take a story down to make a mistake go away.
We will remove or amend material where we are required to by law, where publication would put someone at risk, where it is necessary to protect a person’s privacy, or where a rights holder’s claim is upheld. Where we do, we say that the piece was amended or removed and why, unless saying so would itself cause the harm.
Images
If you believe we have published a photograph without the right to, tell us through the contact page and we take it down while we check, not after.