Cleartext

Trust

Verification policy and methodology

What a “last verified” stamp on Cleartext means, how answers are written and sourced, and how often they are re-checked.

Updated

[Adopt or edit this policy before launch. It describes the process the site’s templates are built to show.]

What “verified” means #

A verification stamp means a named verifier has, on the date shown:

  1. Opened every cited source and confirmed it supports the sentence that cites it.
  2. Confirmed the short answer is still true and still complete enough to act on.
  3. Checked for newer primary documents (a revised standard, a new circular, a compliance-date notice) that would change the answer.

If any check fails, the answer is corrected before the stamp is renewed, and the change is logged.

How an answer is written #

  • One question per page. If a question has two answers depending on who is asking, the audience sections say so.
  • Short answer first, in 60 words or fewer, that stands on its own when quoted.
  • Claims are cited to the most primary source available: the standard, regulation, regulator statement or official dataset. When we rely on press reports, the source list says “secondary”.
  • Conservative wording. Comparisons only state properties that are well established or documented in the cited sources. Unknowns are shown as bracketed editorial notes rather than guessed.

Revisions and the changelog #

Every answer has a revision number. It increases by one each time a changelog entry is added. The changelog records the date and what changed; we don’t update a date without a change or a re-verification.

How often we re-check #

  • Regulation answers: at least every 90 days, and whenever the relevant regulator publishes something new.
  • Identity and fraud answers: at least every 180 days.
  • Data answers: numbers computed from CISA’s KEV feed are regenerated on every build and labeled as automated. The explanation around them follows the 180-day cycle.

CVE reference pages #

Pages under /cve/ reproduce CISA’s KEV entry for a vulnerability. They are marked noindex until an editor adds original analysis, so search engines aren’t asked to index a copy of CISA’s data.

Commercial content #

Cleartext does not currently publish sponsored content. If it ever does, see the commercial content policy.