Recon News investigates public-interest claims using open sources, documents, and on-the-record interviews. We publish what we can verify, flag what we can’t, and show our receipts.
What “investigative” means here
- We prioritize receipts over rhetoric: primary documents, official filings, data exports, imagery and telemetry, recordings, named sources.
- When officials make claims, we look for publicly verifiable proof (e.g., seizure manifests, coordinates, roll-call votes, procurement logs).
- We separate verified facts from assertions and unknowns—and we label them as such in the story.
Confidence labels (story-level)
High
Used when major claims are supported by primary, public receipts (documents, data, court records, official publications) or direct ground truth (verifiable coordinates, forensic media, on-record sources). Independent cross-checks converge with minimal contradictions.
Medium
Used when the timeline and core facts are solid, but one or more key elements rest on official statements, anonymous sourcing, or incomplete public evidence. There may be unresolved discrepancies (e.g., casualty counts, identities, legal status). This is our default for complex, ongoing stories.
Low
Used only when information is early, partial, and contested, and primary receipts are not yet public. We try to avoid publishing at this level unless there is pressing public interest—and we will actively seek upgrades to Medium or High as evidence arrives.
Evidence standards
Primary (preferred)
- Official docs: gazettes, registers, agency releases, court filings, sanctions lists
- Data: CSV/JSON exports, audit logs, public ledgers, chain-of-custody records
- Media: original imagery/video with metadata and forensic checks
- On-record interviews and emails
Secondary (supporting)
- Major wire services and reputable outlets with clear sourcing
- Scholarly/think-tank publications with cited methods
What we don’t rely on
- Screenshots, cropped clips, or claims without traceable provenance
- Single-source anonymous allegations without corroboration
- “Trust me, bro” graphics circulating on social media
How we verify
Chronolocation
We build dated timelines from official notices, wire copy, and institutional feeds; then reconcile with independent corroboration (e.g., vote records, ship/flight logs, public schedules).
Geolocation
We prefer public coordinates or unambiguous landmarks. If officials withhold locations, we state that plainly. When we do have coordinates, we link to open maps and note uncertainty.
Data checks
We ask: is there a receipt? (seizure manifest, docket entry, contract ID). We prefer downloadable formats and document the path to the source (URL, archive ID, or repository).
Attribution
We distinguish between designation/label (e.g., FTO/SDGT status) and specific culpability for an incident. Designations permit actions; they do not prove a given actor’s presence on a specific vessel or site. We look for named individuals, rosters, comms, or cargo manifests.
Media forensics
We examine shadows, weather, sensor signatures, and compression artifacts, and we compare with known imagery of platforms/terrain.
Sourcing & anonymity
- On-the-record is our default.
- Confidential sources are used when there is public interest and reasonable risk to the source; we require documentary corroboration whenever possible.
- We do not accept conditions that preclude fair verification. If a claim cannot be tested, we say so—or we do not publish it.
Corrections & updates
- Minor edits (spelling/formatting) are silent.
- Substantive changes (new evidence, revised tallies, identity confirmations) receive a visible Update note within the post.
- We maintain a single source of truth in each post (e.g., an evidence ledger/table) to avoid inconsistencies across paragraphs.
Style & transparency
- Dates: ISO-ish (e.g., 2025-10-16) or Month Day, Year; be consistent within a story.
- Units: Metric with imperial equivalents where it helps (e.g., 80 nm ≈ 148 km).
- Links: Prefer official domains for primary claims; if you must use coverage, choose reputable outlets and say why.
- Unknowns: Use plain labels in-story—No public physical evidence, No coordinates disclosed, Identity unknown—rather than euphemisms.
- Receipts: Put at least one verifiable link beside each key claim (in the ledger or findings), and group the rest under Evidence & receipts.
Tips, leaks & secure contact
- Email: tips@recon.news
- Telegram: @ReconDotNews
- For sensitive material, contact us first for key exchange and a redaction plan. Do not send anything unlawful to possess in your jurisdiction.
Funding & conflicts
We do not accept payments or gifts tied to coverage outcomes. If a potential conflict arises, we disclose it in the story or recuse as needed.
Version
Updated: 2025-10-19. This page reflects our current practice and may evolve as we refine our methods.
Contact: Tips → tips@recon.news · Telegram → @ReconDotNews · Corrections → corrections@recon.news
How to use in posts (internal note for editors)
- Add Confidence near the end of each investigation:
Confidence: High / Medium / Low — one-sentence why. - Keep an evidence ledger/table inside the post; avoid separate “datasets” pages unless the dataset is large or reused across stories.