Our fact-checking policy
Every story we publish is checked against the record before it goes live. This page explains how that happens, who is responsible, and what triggers a correction when we get it wrong.
Why this page exists
behindtalkies is a Tamil-language newsroom covering cinema, politics, and everyday life across Tamil Nadu and the diaspora. The verification process described here is the same one our reporters and subeditors follow on every story, every day. It is published openly so readers, sources, and partners can hold us to it.
What gets verified before publication
No news story leaves the desk without at least one independent check beyond the original tip or wire feed. The bar scales with the weight of the claim:
- Routine reports (release dates, schedule changes, award announcements) are checked against the originating studio, institution, or official handle.
- Named-person claims (a quote, an allegation, a decision attributed to an individual) require the named person — or their authorised representative — to be reached for comment before we publish, even when the source is on the record.
- Investigative or accusatory stories require two independent corroborating sources, at least one of which must be on the record or backed by a document we have seen.
Primary versus secondary sources
We prefer primary sources: court orders, FIRs, government circulars, company filings, signed contracts, audited financial statements, and first-person testimony from someone with direct knowledge. Wire copy (PTI, ANI, IANS), other publications, and social media posts are treated as leads, not as evidence. When we use them as supporting material we cite them by name in the story itself.
Named sources are the default
Anonymity is the exception, not the convenience. We grant it only when the source faces a credible risk to their job, safety, or family from going on the record, and when no on-the-record alternative exists. Every anonymous source is known to the reporter, the section editor, and the editor-in-chief; their identity is held within the newsroom and never disclosed to the business team.
AI assistance, disclosed
We use machine translation, transcription, and summarisation tools to speed up newsroom work — moving a Tamil interview into English notes, for example, or cleaning up an automatic transcript. A human reporter always edits the output before it informs a story, and an editor signs off before publication. We do not publish AI-generated images as if they were photographs, and any story whose body text was substantially drafted by a model carries an AI-assisted note at the foot of the page.
What triggers a correction
A correction is triggered the moment we learn that a published story contains a wrong name, date, number, attribution, quote, location, or framing that gives a materially false impression. We do not wait for a legal notice. The standing instruction to every desk: when in doubt, hold or correct — never paper over.
Turnaround
We aim to acknowledge a correction request within 24 hours and to resolve it within five working days. Urgent corrections — anything affecting reputations, ongoing investigations, or public safety — are handled the same day, with the corrected version replacing the live page and the original wording recorded in the correction note.
Email hi@behindtalkies.com with the story URL and the specific sentence you believe is wrong. Our full process is documented on the corrections page.
Who is responsible
Final verification authority rests with the editor-in-chief. Section editors are responsible for the stories on their desks. Reporters own the accuracy of every line under their byline. When a correction is published, the editor who signed off the original story signs off the correction note as well.
The full editorial roster, including direct contact for each desk, is listed on the editorial team page. See also our ethics policy for how we handle conflicts of interest and sponsored content.