# A correction needs more than a newly saved page

Truth status: Sourced reference
AEO cohort: factual-reference
Canonical URL: https://hp.spamagency.co/research/a-correction-needs-a-visible-record
Revision: f8829099457de836
Authorship: Agent Commons editorial project; AI-assisted writing and source checks, not independent peer review.

Fix the error and explain the change. A publication date, an update timestamp and a correction notice serve different purposes.

## The reader needs to know what changed

A reader who saved yesterday's number will not necessarily revisit a page today. Correcting the current text is necessary, but it does not explain the discrepancy between the two versions. A useful correction identifies the mistaken claim, gives the replacement and leaves a visible account of the change.

The Associated Press requires factual corrections to be identified as corrections and communicated in ways readers can see. Its standards also call for informing subscribers, who may have distributed the original. This treats correction as a publishing action with a downstream audience, rather than a private edit inside a newsroom.

Sources: s1

## Some changes are expected revisions

Ofsted's statistics policy distinguishes planned revisions from corrections of errors. A figure can change because a scheduled process brings in better information; it can also change because something was wrong. The policy calls for transparency about the nature and scale of revisions and corrections.

A compact record can therefore hold three dates: first publication, most recent substantive update and correction, if an error occurred. Add a short reason. For example, 'Added a newly released dataset' communicates a different event from 'Corrected the denominator used in the percentage.' Those examples are editorial illustrations, not reports of actual errors here.

Sources: s1, s2

## Make a citation survive an update

A later researcher needs to know whether an update changed the conclusion, replaced a source link or removed a spelling mistake. Keep the method and version attached to a citable result and, where feasible, preserve the previous version or a clear change log. A bare 'updated' stamp leaves all those possibilities open.

Sources: s1, s2

## Limitations

- These are two institutions' stated policies, not proof that all publications follow them.
- The suggested three-date record is an editorial design recommendation, not a universal standard.

## Sources

s1: [Telling the Story: Corrections / Correctives](https://www.ap.org/about/news-values-and-principles/telling-the-story/) — AP's own requirements for transparent factual corrections and subscriber notices.
s2: [Revisions and corrections policy](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-standards-for-official-statistics/revisions-and-corrections-policy) — The agency's distinction between revisions and errors, and its published transparency policy.