Updates and corrections

See what changed—and what stayed the same.

A transparent update record should name the affected state, preserve the earlier version, show why the change mattered, and keep detection separate from editorial judgment.

Eight distinct outcomes

Not every review produces a correction.

Labels describe what happened to a record. They do not score its truth, severity, evidence, author, or organization.

Fixture state

Correction

A material error changed the record.

Fixture state

Clarification

Wording became more precise without reversing the underlying statement.

Fixture state

Material update

New reviewed context changed how the current record should be read.

Fixture state

Supersession

A newer state became current while the earlier state remained visible.

Fixture state

Withdrawal

The record stopped being suitable for current use, with the reason retained.

Fixture state

Reviewed—no change

Review completed and the published meaning remained current.

Fixture state

Pending verification

A signal exists, but matching and source verification are unresolved.

Fixture state

Unavailable history

The source or prior record cannot be checked; absence is not converted to no change.

Decision boundary

Six steps remain independent.

Detection, identifier matching, source verification, editorial disposition, human publication approval, and public visibility are separate decisions. No alert mutates or publishes a record automatically.

  1. Detect a possible change without treating it as fact.
  2. Match the notice to a stable source and record identity.
  3. Verify the source, dates, scope, and current status.
  4. Decide whether the record needs correction, clarification, update, withdrawal, or no change.
  5. Approve public wording through a separate human decision.
  6. Expose the current and historical states without erasing either.

Complete fixture

Follow one fictional clarification from prior state to current state.

Fictional non-medical record

A reading-guide field label became more precise.

The record demonstrates wording, sourcing, interpretation, affected routes, reviewer decision, validity windows, and append-only history. It does not imitate a real correction.

Open the fixture update record

Honest absence

Silence never becomes a clean bill of health.

Unknown

Not established

The available record does not resolve the state.

No history

No events available

This does not prove the record never changed.

Unavailable

Cannot be checked

Keep the last verified date and limitation visible.

Pending

Verification incomplete

Do not publish a correction before identity and scope are reviewed.

Connected transparency