1. Why Fact-Checking Matters for Education News
A wrong exam date, an incorrect eligibility criterion, or an unverified result declaration can cause irreparable harm to a student’s career. For this reason, Timely India treats fact-checking not as a post-publication exercise, but as a mandatory pre-publication step for every piece of content we produce. Our fact-checking standards are designed specifically for the high-stakes environment of Indian competitive examinations and educational admissions.
2. Our Fact-Checking Process
Every Timely India article goes through the following verification steps before publication:
Step 1: Identify the Primary Official Source
The reporting journalist identifies the authoritative official source for the information. For SSC exams, this is ssc.gov.in; for NTA exams, jeemain.nta.ac.in or neet.nta.nic.in; for UPSC, upsc.gov.in; for CBSE, cbse.gov.in or cbseresults.nic.in. We never use social media posts, WhatsApp messages, or coaching institute announcements as primary sources.
Step 2: Download or Screenshot the Source Document
For official notifications, the journalist downloads or screenshots the official PDF or webpage from the primary source at the time of writing. This document is retained internally as evidence of the source. Source URLs are included in articles where relevant, so readers can independently verify the information.
Step 3: Cross-Reference with Secondary Official Sources
Where possible, the information is cross-referenced with a second official source — for example, a result declared on a state board’s website is cross-referenced with DigiLocker or UMANG if the data is available on those platforms. For important announcements, the PIB (Press Information Bureau) release or Ministry of Education notification is also consulted.
Step 4: Editorial Review
All articles are reviewed by a senior editor before publication. For breaking news requiring rapid publication, the Editor-in-Chief or a designated senior editor performs an expedited review of key facts (dates, eligibility criteria, vacancy counts, official URLs) before the article goes live. No article is published without editorial review.
Step 5: Post-Publication Monitoring
After publication, the article’s key facts are monitored for changes. If an official authority revises a notification (for example, an exam date is postponed, or a vacancy count is updated), Timely India updates the article immediately with a clear “Updated on [date]” note at the top, explaining what was changed and why.
3. What We Do Not Publish
Timely India has a zero-tolerance policy for the following types of unverified content:
- Exam date speculation without an official notification
- Unofficial result “expected date” stories based on coaching institute estimates
- Leaked question paper content or answers
- Unverified cutoff scores presented as official data
- Social media rumours about syllabus changes or paper patterns
If an important development is widely circulated but cannot be officially confirmed, we explicitly label it as “unverified” and urge readers to await the official announcement. We prefer not publishing over publishing unverified claims.
4. How Errors Are Corrected
Despite our rigorous fact-checking process, errors can occur. When an error is identified:
- Acknowledgement: The error is acknowledged to the reader who reported it within 12 hours.
- Internal Review: The Editor-in-Chief reviews the report and the original source document.
- Correction: If the error is confirmed, the article is corrected within 24 hours. The correction is documented with a visible “Correction — [Date]: [Description of what was changed]” note at the top or bottom of the article.
- Significant Errors: For errors that significantly impact student decisions (e.g., wrong exam dates, incorrect eligibility), a correction notice is also published on our homepage and Breaking Ticker for 24 hours.
- No Silent Edits: We never silently edit or delete content. All corrections are transparent and timestamped.
5. How to Report an Error
If you believe an article on Timely India contains a factual error, outdated information, or a broken link to an official source, please report it to us:
- Email: corrections@timelyindia.com
- Contact form: timelyindia.com/contact
When reporting an error, please include: the article URL, the specific sentence or data point you believe is incorrect, and the official source you are using to support your claim. Our team will review your report and respond within 24 hours.
6. Our Commitment to Continuous Improvement
Timely India’s editorial team conducts a monthly internal review of all correction reports and near-misses to identify patterns and improve our processes. We are committed to maintaining and improving our fact-checking standards and welcome feedback from our readers, exam authorities, and the academic community.
Our Commitment to IFCN Principles
Timely India is guided by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) Code of Principles, the globally recognised standard for responsible fact-checking journalism. Below we affirm our adherence to each of the five IFCN principles.
1. Commitment to Non-Partisanship and Fairness
Timely India applies the same rigorous fact-checking standards to all information regardless of the source — government, opposition, institution, or individual. We do not selectively fact-check based on political or ideological alignment. Our editorial team does not accept assignments that would require partisan treatment of factual claims.
2. Commitment to Transparency of Sources
We name the primary official sources used to verify every claim and link to them wherever possible. Readers should be able to independently verify the information we publish by following our cited sources. We do not publish claims that rely on anonymous or unverifiable sources.
3. Commitment to Transparency of Funding and Organisation
Timely India is an independent digital media platform. We do not accept funding from political parties, government departments, or any organisation that could create a conflict of interest with our editorial mission. Our revenue model (advertising and licensing) is disclosed on our About page, and we maintain a strict separation between commercial and editorial operations.
4. Commitment to Transparency of Methodology
This page documents our full fact-checking methodology — from primary source identification and cross-referencing to editorial review and post-publication monitoring. We are committed to making our process legible and auditable so that readers, researchers, and peer organisations can assess the quality of our work.
5. Commitment to an Open and Honest Corrections Policy
When we get something wrong, we say so — publicly, promptly, and prominently. All corrections are documented with a timestamped note on the original article. We never silently edit or delete content. Significant errors affecting student decisions receive additional prominence on our homepage. Readers can report errors at any time via corrections@timelyindia.com.