By Abearica Online Editors · Published
Read a correction alongside the passage it changes, then reconsider the conclusion you drew from the earlier version. Start with the specific error. Do not decide that the whole story stands or falls until you have examined what the corrected information actually supports.
Find the publisher's explanation
Open the publisher's page rather than relying only on a screenshot of the correction. Look for a correction note and read the current text near the affected passage. Keep the article address and the wording of the correction together in your notes.
AP's standards require a factual correction to be labeled a correction, rather than described with euphemisms such as "minor edits."2
Use that distinction as a question to ask while reading: does the note identify a factual error, or does it describe some other change? If the explanation is unclear, leave your own note equally cautious. Avoid inventing a reason for an edit that the publisher has not explained.
Identify the reach of the change
Reuters' standards say errors should be corrected promptly, clearly, and comprehensively, including in captions, graphics, and scripts.1
Inspect any caption or graphic relevant to your understanding, not just the main paragraph. Write a short comparison of the earlier assertion and the corrected assertion if both are available. Label your comparison as your own reading of the change.
For a correction about civic information, use Influence to begin locating the underlying public record. For an overseas story, continue through International and look for the original institution or document. Ask whether the correction changes the question you need answered.
Repair your own use of the story
AP's standards also say corrections should be visible to news consumers.2
If you repeated the erroneous detail, consider adding a clear follow-up where you shared it. State what changed and link to the corrected report. Do not leave readers to guess whether your original wording remains your position.
If you saved the story for a later reading session, update the note you keep with it. You can return to Abearica Today after recording whether the change affects any action you planned. Where the corrected story still leaves a gap, name the gap. A correction is a reason to reread carefully, not an invitation to supply a missing explanation yourself.