If something I’ve published is wrong, I want to know, and I’ll fix it openly. This page explains how to report an error, how I check it, and how corrections show up on the page.
What counts as an error
An error is anything that could mislead a reader. That includes a wrong fact, figure or date, a misread source, a link that now points somewhere different, guidance that’s changed since I wrote about it, or a result described in a way that overstates it.
Opinions and forecasts aren’t errors because you disagree with them, although I’m always happy to hear why. If a forecast turns out wrong, I say so in a later Direction piece rather than quietly editing the original.
How to report an error
Send a message through the contact page with the page address, what you think is wrong, and a source if you have one. You can also message me on WhatsApp from any page. I read every report myself.
I aim to review every report within five working days.
How I check it
I go back to the source the claim was based on, check whether it’s been updated or was misread, and look for a primary source if one wasn’t used. If the report is right, I correct the page. If I don’t agree, I’ll reply and explain why.
How corrections are shown
How a correction appears depends on how much it changes:
| Type of change | What you’ll see |
|---|---|
| Typos, grammar, broken formatting | Fixed without a note |
| A factual error that changes a detail | A correction note at the end of the article, with the date and what changed |
| An error that changes the article’s main advice or a key figure | A correction note at the top of the article as well as the end |
| Guidance that has changed since publishing | The article is updated, the updated date changes, and a note explains what’s new |
| Research data or method errors | A dated note on the study page, and the dataset re-issued if the data changed |
A correction note says what was wrong and what it now says. I don’t delete articles to hide mistakes. If an article is so out of date that it can’t be fixed, it’s either rewritten or redirected to the page that replaced it, with a note.
Guides and older articles
The foundational guides are living pages. When Google or an AI platform changes its guidance, the relevant guide is updated rather than a new article being written, and the change is noted with a date.
Older articles are reviewed too. If a piece still gets read but the advice in it has gone out of date, it gets a note at the top explaining what’s changed and linking to the current guidance, until it’s rewritten.
Roundups
If an error appears in a weekly or monthly roundup, the correction goes on that edition and is mentioned in the next one, so anyone who read the original has a chance to see it.
Related policies
The editorial policy explains how content is researched and written in the first place, and the methodology page covers how the research studies are run.