How to find a correction

Step 1: check the story page

Look at the top and bottom of the article. The Press Council of South Africa guidance asks for online correction notes at the end of the article, and a notice at the top for significant errors ⁶. BOOM places an editor's note at the bottom of corrected stories, and corrected stories carry an advisory ¹. Snopes puts substantive changes in an Update box at the foot of the article ².

Some outlets do not note minor edits. Snopes does not note typographical errors or other minor revisions ². The Washington Post says update notes are not needed for routine changes ⁷.

Step 2: check the corrections page or column

Many papers print corrections in one place. The Globe and Mail publishes all corrections on page A2 ³. The Nation in Kenya usually places corrections on page two ⁸. South African guidance recommends a Corrections or Apologies menu column online, with a link to the original article ⁶.

Step 3: check the outlet's policy

A corrections policy tells you what labels to look for. At The Washington Post these are correction, clarification and editor's note ⁷. Fact-checkers that sign the IFCN code must have a corrections or complaints policy that is easy to see on their website ⁹.

Step 4: for research papers, check the record

ICMJE asks journals to put retraction notices and expressions of concern on a page listed in the table of contents so they are indexed. A retracted article should be labelled in every form and linked to its notice in both directions ¹⁰.

Crossref's Crossmark button gives quick access to the current status of an item, including in downloaded PDFs where members embed it ⁴. The Retraction Watch database, acquired by Crossref in September 2023, can be reached through the Crossref REST API or downloaded in full, and is updated every working day ⁵.

Step 5: report an error

If you find an error, use the outlet's route. Snopes has a Feedback link at the bottom of each article ². The Nation's Public Editor handles readers' complaints on editorial matters ⁸. An IFCN signatory must tell users they can report suspected code violations to the IFCN ⁹.