How we verify

1Leads, not sources

We scan social media and wires for what's moving. A post, a trending summary or an AI digest is only a lead. It never counts as a source.

2Confirm

Each claim, figure, name and date is checked against a primary source (central bank, statistics office, electoral authority, government release, company filing) or two independent outlets.

3In the source language

We read the Spanish- and Portuguese-language press first, and English wires second. We translate faithfully and quote loaded phrases in the original.

4Cut what fails

Anything single-sourced, contradicted or unconfirmed is logged and left out, even when it's trending.

The rules

Primary first. Inflation from INDEC, IBGE or INEGI; rates from the central bank; polls from the pollster's own release or the outlet that commissioned it.
Two independent outlets otherwise. Two outlets repeating the same wire story count as one.
No invented precision. We only print figures that appear in the source text.
Neutral voice. We attribute opinions and quotes. We don't characterise candidates in our own words.
Every item links to its sources, so you can check us.
Freshness. Items should be from roughly the last 24 hours. Running stories are tagged DEVELOPING.

Sources we lean on

Country	Press	Primary
🇦🇷 Argentina	La Nación, Clarín, Infobae, Ámbito, El Cronista	BCRA, INDEC
🇧🇷 Brazil	Folha, Estadão, Valor, G1, O Globo	BCB, IBGE, TSE, Datafolha, Quaest
🇲🇽 Mexico	Reforma, El Universal, El Financiero, La Jornada	Banxico, INEGI
🇨🇴 Colombia	El Tiempo, El Espectador, La República	BanRep, DANE, Presidencia
🇨🇱 Chile	La Tercera, Emol, Diario Financiero	BCCh, INE, Cochilco, Codelco
🇵🇪 🇻🇪 Peru, Venezuela, Central America	El Comercio, Gestión, Efecto Cocuyo, El Pitazo, La Prensa	BCRP, INEI
Regional / English	Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, FT, BNamericas, S&P Global, Americas Quarterly	IMF, PAHO, USGS

What we didn't run: a real example

In Issue #15 we accepted 10 items and held back 10. Some examples:

Claim seen online	Why we cut it
A migrant caravan of "about 400" people	AP and La Jornada reported 500+. We used the outlets' figure.
Copper deficit and record-low Chilean output figures	Only in a social-media summary. Not confirmed against BNEF or Cochilco.
A foreign intelligence claim that cartels were drone-trained abroad	Single state-intelligence source, propaganda risk.
"Polls show the lead shrinking"	Contradicted by the latest published polls, which showed a tie.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it in the next issue under a "Correction" line and update the web archive. Spotted an error? Reply to any issue.