Methodology
How The Civic Fox uses public sources, separates facts from interpretation, handles tips, and protects editorial independence.
Last reviewed:
Scope: The Civic Fox source, tip, correction, and independence method.
This page explains how The Civic Fox handles sources, tips, corrections, uncertainty, and support boundaries.
The short version
The Civic Fox starts with public records, explains what they say, separates facts from interpretation, and corrects mistakes when found.
The Civic Fox is built around a simple discipline: public understanding should begin with verifiable source material whenever possible. That means public records, official documents, meeting materials, public notices, statutes, policies, budgets, ordinances, resolutions, and other civic sources.
1. Source first
The Civic Fox prefers primary sources over secondhand claims. A news story, public comment, campaign statement, or tip may point toward an issue, but it does not replace the underlying public record.
2. Public documents before commentary
The work is not to produce a reaction first and find sources later. The work is to locate the public material, read it carefully, and explain what it appears to say in ordinary language.
3. Fact, context, inference, unknown
Good civic interpretation separates different kinds of claims:
- Fact: what a source directly says or shows.
- Context: background needed to understand the source.
- Inference: a reasonable reading based on available material.
- Unknown: what cannot be confirmed from the available record.
4. How tips are treated
A tip is a lead, not a fact. The Civic Fox may use tips to look for public documents, agenda items, meeting records, policies, filings, notices, or other civic source material. Submitting a tip does not guarantee coverage, reply, confidentiality, or publication.
5. Corrections and updates
If a page is incomplete, outdated, or wrong, the correct move is to update it clearly. Corrections should be dated and visible when the change affects meaning. Small copy edits may be made without a formal correction note.
6. Sponsorship does not shape conclusions
Support may sustain the work, but it does not steer the work. Sponsors do not receive control over topics, timing, wording, conclusions, corrections, or source selection. Recognition is informational only.
7. What The Civic Fox does not do
- It does not provide legal advice.
- It does not endorse candidates or parties.
- It does not publish unsupported claims as conclusions.
- It does not promise to cover every issue.
- It does not treat public reaction as evidence.
