How we verify

Every story shows a badge such as “Confirmed by 3 independent sources”. Here is what that number means.

We count independent confirmations, not articles

Many outlets publish the same story using the same wire copy, the same press statement, or by rewriting another outlet's report. Five articles can come from one source. So we count origins, not articles:

• Reports that credit the same wire service (for example the News Agency of Nigeria, Reuters or AFP) count as one source.
• Reports that relay the same press statement count as one source.
• A report whose text is near-identical to an earlier report counts with that earlier report.
• Outlets with the same owner count as one source.
• Websites that mainly republish other outlets' stories are never counted.
• An official statement (for example from a ministry, regulator or the CBN) counts as one source and is labelled as official.

A computer does this grouping first. An editor then checks it and can lower the count if two reports turn out to share an origin. Editors can never raise it.

What we need before publishing

• At least 2 independent sources, or an official statement.
• An editor's approval for every story.
• For any story that accuses a named person or organisation of wrongdoing, or that involves arrests, courts or security incidents, an extra editor check, however many sources agree. Several outlets repeating a claim does not make it true. We report such claims as allegations, say who made them, and include the response of the person accused where it is available.

What the badge does not mean

A high count means several independent organisations reported the same thing. It does not guarantee that every detail is correct. Each story page lists the reports we used, so you can read them yourself.

Financial data

We publish official exchange rates only, as published by the Central Bank of Nigeria. We do not publish parallel-market rates.