How this archive works.

Publication standard

What we publish.

We publish findings that meet all of the following criteria:

• The finding is supported by at least one primary source document
• The document is an official government record, recorded instrument, or timestamped screenshot of a public government system
• The document has not been altered in any way
• The factual claim made is directly supported by the document — not inferred, not extrapolated

We do not publish findings based on anonymous sources, secondhand accounts, or circumstantial patterns alone, regardless of how compelling the pattern may appear.

Exclusions

What we do not publish.

• Speculation
• Inference presented as fact
• Findings supported only by secondary sources
• Allegations without documentary support
• Personal opinions or editorial conclusions presented as findings

Source types

Primary sources.

A primary source, as used in this archive, is one of the following:

• A document recorded with an official government recording office (deed, mortgage, satisfaction, assignment, or other instrument recorded with a county recorder of deeds or equivalent)
• A filing with a state or federal agency (corporate registration, regulatory filing, court record, government contract)
• A screenshot of a public-facing government system, captured directly from the official government website with no alterations
• A government-issued report, audit, or official communication

Secondary sources — news articles, aggregator websites, third-party databases — may be used for context but are never the sole basis for a factual claim in an exhibit.

Capture method

Screenshots.

Screenshots of government systems are captured using Firefox's built-in full-page screenshot tool. This tool automatically embeds the capture timestamp in the filename. Screenshots are preserved in their original, unaltered form. The filename timestamp is the documented date of access.

When a screenshot documents a search result from a government database, the search parameters used are recorded and included in the exhibit. Results are not filtered, sorted, or otherwise modified before capture.

Preservation

Document preservation.

All source documents are preserved in their original form. No document is cropped, edited, annotated, or otherwise modified after capture. Documents uploaded to this archive's public repository are identical to the documents as originally obtained.

Copies of all source documents are maintained in a private archive independent of this website. The public repository is a presentation layer. The underlying archive is preserved separately.

Exhibit structure

How exhibits are structured.

Each exhibit contains:

• A statement of the primary finding
• The evidentiary basis for that finding
• The source documents, available for direct review and download
• The parties identified in the source documents, with their roles as documented in the public record
• A methodology note identifying the source system and capture method

Exhibits do not contain conclusions that go beyond what the documents establish. Where additional context is provided, it is clearly distinguished from the primary finding and is itself supported by documented sources.

Corrections

Corrections.

If a factual error is identified in a published exhibit, it will be corrected and the correction will be noted. The standard that applies to original publication applies equally to corrections: the corrected statement must be supported by documentation. An assertion that something is wrong is not sufficient — the correct information must be documentable from primary sources.

Contact

Contact.

Documented corrections, additional primary source materials relevant to published exhibits, and press inquiries may be directed to: