Our Commitment to Accuracy and Trust

At The Tennessee Firefly, our most important commitment is to our readers and to the truth. We understand that the trust you place in us is paramount, and the foundation of that trust is our dedication to accuracy and honesty in all our reporting. We strive for precision and fairness in every article we publish.

Journalism is a human endeavor, and despite our rigorous verification processes, mistakes can happen. When they do, it is our ethical responsibility to correct them fully, quickly, and transparently. Our willingness to promptly correct the record is a cornerstone of our pact with you, our audience. This policy outlines our standards and procedures for correcting errors to ensure we are always accountable.

Core Principles of Our Corrections Process

Accuracy Over Speed: While we work to bring you timely news, our primary goal is to get the story right. Accuracy will always take precedence over speed.
Transparency: We will not silently "scrub" or delete content that contains a factual error. We believe in being open about our mistakes and clear about the changes we have made.
No Unpublishing: Our published content is part of the public historical record. Therefore, we will not unpublish an article due to errors. Instead, we will correct the article to ensure the record is accurate. In extremely rare circumstances, such as a court order or a serious risk of public harm, an article may be removed, and a notice will be published in its place explaining the removal.
Consistency Across Platforms: We will correct errors on any and all platforms where the inaccurate information was shared, including our website, social media channels, and newsletters.

Types of Corrections

We differentiate between minor and significant errors to determine the appropriate response.

Minor Errors: Small mistakes in spelling, grammar, or syntax that do not alter the meaning or factual substance of a story may be corrected without a formal notice.
Factual Errors: Any error that is factually significant or impacts the reader's understanding of a story requires a formal correction. This includes misstating a name, title, number, date, or misrepresenting a quote or key event.

Our Correction Procedures

When a factual error is confirmed, we will take the following steps:

Correct the Article: The original article will be updated to include the correct information.
Append a Correction Notice: A formal notice will be added to the corrected article. For significant errors, this notice will be placed at the top of the story. For less prominent errors, it may be placed at the bottom.
Write a Clear Notice: The notice will be clearly labeled "Correction" and will state what was originally reported in error and provide the correct information in plain, easy-to-understand language. We want anyone to be able to understand how and why a mistake was corrected.
Correct Social Media: If the error was shared on a social media platform like X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook, we will not simply delete the original post. We will issue a new post that corrects the information, often including a screenshot of the original erroneous post for full transparency.

Clarifications, Updates, and Retractions

In addition to corrections, we may issue other notices to ensure the public record is as accurate and complete as possible.

Clarification: A clarification may be added if our reporting was factually accurate but the language used was ambiguous or lacked necessary context.
Editor's Note: An editor's note may be used to acknowledge a journalistic or editing oversight that does not constitute a factual error but is important for the audience to understand.
Update: For developing stories, we may add an "Update" to inform readers that the story has been revised with new, significant information.
Retraction: In the rare event that a story's central premise is invalidated by a major error or if research misconduct is discovered, we will issue a full retraction. A retraction notice will explain the reasons for the invalidation and will replace the original article.

How to Report an Error

We value our readers' help in maintaining our standards of accuracy. If you believe you have found an error in our reporting, please contact us immediately.

Email: Send an email to our corrections team with "Correction" in the subject line.
Please include:
- The URL of the article in question.
- The specific information you believe is incorrect.
- The correct information and, if possible, the source of that information.

Once a potential error is reported, our editors will investigate promptly. If an error is confirmed, we will correct it according to this policy. Please note that we will not correct an accurate statement, even if pressured to do so.

Our Commitment to Learning

We view every mistake as a learning opportunity. Our editorial team will review significant errors to understand how they occurred and to improve our processes to prevent similar mistakes in the future. We believe that creating a culture of accountability is essential to earning and keeping your trust.