Fact
A statement directly supported by a cited record or reproducible calculation.
Independent visual journalism
Sources open by default
Evidence before verdict
Methods
How we collect, clean, compare and explain data—and how readers can inspect the choices behind every finding.
Claim01
Source02
Check03
Publish04
Our standard
The conclusion should be traceable to the record.
Visual storytelling can make evidence easier to understand, but it can also hide important choices. We show the source, definition, calculation and limitation behind each central claim.
Six-stage workflow
From question to published story.
- 01 Frame a testable question
Define the claim, period, geography and comparison before looking for a dramatic number.
- 02 Find the primary record
Prioritise budgets, audit reports, laws, legislative records, court documents, RTIs and original datasets.
- 03 Preserve the raw evidence
Record the source, publisher, retrieval date, original definitions and an unchanged copy where permitted.
- 04 Clean and compare
Standardise units, document exclusions and use fair denominators, time periods and benchmarks.
- 05 Test and seek a response
Check calculations, look for competing explanations and request a response from relevant institutions or people.
- 06 Publish the evidence trail
Release sources, methodology, limitations, cleaned data and the correction history alongside the story.
Words with rules
Facts, estimates and analysis are not interchangeable.
Estimate
A calculated value whose assumptions, method and uncertainty are clearly disclosed.
Analysis
Our interpretation of the evidence, separated from the underlying recorded facts.
Limitation
A known gap, inconsistency or uncertainty that may affect how a finding should be read.
Published with every investigation
A story should arrive with its evidence.
- Original source links and retrieval dates
- Definitions, calculations and data dictionary
- Assumptions, exclusions and known limitations
- Right-of-reply status and relevant responses
- Downloadable data where publication is permitted
- Update and correction history
Story 02 · Promise Watch
How we checked 20 Modi-era promises.
See how we separated 9 direct statements from 11 official targets, fixed the original benchmark and handled changed definitions or missing data.
Story method · August 2026
How we followed ₹1 lakh across 22 years of changing CPI series.
The purchasing-power story joins a CPI-IW historical extension to CPI Combined, keeps every comparison in June, and labels the splice and its limitations explicitly.
Read the full method →