“It’s okay to make mistakes. Try to fix them. Learn from them too.”
- Daniel Tiger
A note from Nick
We spend 10 to 20 hours on every article, and we still get things wrong. Here’s what we fix, how to tell us, and what happens after.
What we fix
If we got a fact wrong (a name, a number, a date, a quote, who said what), we fix it and say so at the bottom of the article. If the error changed the point of the piece, we say so at the top too. The note looks like this: “Correction, [date]: An earlier version of this article said X. In fact, Y.”
If the facts were right but the wording could mislead, or we left out context that mattered, we add it and note that too.
If something changed after we published (a response came in, a vote happened), we update the article and date the update.
Typos, grammar and broken links get fixed quietly, since nothing about the story changed.
If the error went out in a video, a social post or the newsletter, we correct it there too. A video gets a pinned comment or an updated description. An email gets a note in the next send.
How to tell us
Email corrections@theplum.org, reply to any newsletter, or leave a comment on the post. Tell us the article and the specific claim you think is wrong, and send a link to the source if you have one.
How we decide
We check the claim against the documents, recordings and notes behind the story. The writer gets consulted but doesn’t make the final call on their own piece. If it’s disputed, we go to an independent source. Nick makes the call.
What we won’t do
We won’t quietly edit a fact after publishing. We won’t delete an article to hide a mistake (an article comes down only for legal or safety reasons). We won’t let a funder, donor, board member or advertiser change a correction decision. And we won’t treat “I disagree with your take” as an error. My Take is opinion. If you think the analysis is wrong, tell us in the comments or in an email. If we think it’s a strong rebuttal, we may add it to the article.