Corrections & retractions

Status

This policy is a first draft. Final language will be reviewed by a California media-law attorney before launch. The 21-day correction window is calibrated to California Civil Code §48a; nothing in this draft should be read as legal advice.

How to request a correction

Email corrections@pierandpoint.com with:

1. The URL of the story.
2. The specific factual claim you believe is wrong.
3. The correct information.
4. A source we can verify.

We respond to every correction request, even when we conclude the story is accurate. Our target initial response time for a clearly factual error is 48–72 hours.

Our four labels

We label corrections precisely. The label affects what readers see, what we change, and how we count the time.

• Correction. A factual error has been fixed. The original wrong statement is preserved in the correction note so readers can see what was changed.
• Clarification. The original statement was not factually wrong, but was ambiguous or could mislead a reasonable reader. We add language to remove the ambiguity.
• Update. New facts have changed the story’s meaning. We add the new facts and timestamp them.
• Editor’s note. A meta-statement about a story that doesn’t fit the three categories above. For example, a disclosure of a previously undisclosed conflict, or a removal of personally identifying information at a subject’s request after a charge is dismissed.

Every correction, clarification, update, and editor’s note is permalinked from the affected story and from our corrections index (coming Phase 2).

What we do not do

• We do not silently rewrite stories.
• We do not delete stories to "correct" errors. The corrected story stays at its URL with the correction note attached. (Unpublishing is reserved for the dismissal/acquittal cases described in our naming policy and for narrow safety-of-the-subject cases.)
• We do not negotiate the public visibility of a correction.

California Civil Code §48a

Under California Civil Code §48a, a publication that issues a clear correction within 21 days of a written demand for correction can limit damages in a defamation action to special damages. The 21-day clock starts on the date of the written demand, not on the date we discover an error.

This is one of several legal reasons our corrections process is fast and visible. It is not the only reason.

Right of reply

When a story names a private individual, we attempt to reach that person before publication for a response. When that attempt is unsuccessful and the person reaches us after publication with a response, we add the response to the story as a clearly labeled update.

Anti-SLAPP context

California Code of Civil Procedure §425.16 — the anti-SLAPP statute — protects defendants from meritless defamation claims filed to chill speech on a public issue. A documented corrections process is part of the editorial record we would attach to such a motion. See our anti-SLAPP readiness page (admin-only).