Attribution standard
FCM identifies the origin of material factual claims as specifically as practical. Readers should be able to distinguish what comes from a primary record, government statement, court filing, NGO report, academic work, news organization, witness account, archive or FCM’s own analysis.
Primary and secondary sources
Primary-source material is preferred for establishing what a document, institution or participant actually said or did. Secondary sources are used for corroboration, context, interpretation and discovery, with source quality and independence considered.
Allegations and disputed claims
Unproven allegations are attributed to the source making them. Where credible sources conflict, FCM seeks to describe the conflict and the available evidence instead of presenting one disputed account as unquestioned fact.
Original-language records
When translation affects meaning, FCM should preserve or identify the original-language source and indicate when a translation is ours or comes from another publisher.
Copyright and archive use
FCM may cite, summarize or quote source material for research, reporting and commentary while respecting applicable copyright and licensing limits. An archive record or bibliographic description does not imply ownership of the underlying work.
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