Corrections Policy

Our commitment

Accuracy is the core obligation of a health information site. When a factual error is identified — regardless of how it was found — it is corrected promptly. We do not let errors stand because correcting them is awkward or inconvenient.

How to submit a correction

If you believe a factual claim on any Virus Questions site is incorrect, use the contact page and include:

• The URL of the page containing the error
• The specific claim you believe is incorrect (quote or describe it)
• The primary source that contradicts it (CDC, WHO, FDA, peer-reviewed journal), with a direct link if possible

Corrections submitted with primary-source evidence are reviewed within 48 hours. Corrections without supporting primary-source evidence are reviewed within one week.

How corrections are made

1. Verification: The cited primary source is reviewed to confirm whether the current page content is indeed contradicted.
2. Correction: If confirmed, the specific claim is corrected. The correction is limited to the inaccurate passage — we do not rewrite surrounding accurate content.
3. Date update: The page's "Last reviewed" date is updated to reflect when the correction was made.
4. Acknowledgment: Where a reader's submission led to a factual correction, this is noted in the page's revision history (see below). We do not publish the submitter's name without permission.

What counts as a correctable error

A correctable error is a factual claim that is directly contradicted by current primary source guidance (CDC, WHO, FDA, NIH, or peer-reviewed literature). Examples:

• A stated case fatality rate that has been revised in a CDC update
• A treatment described as "investigational" that has since received FDA approval
• An outbreak status that has changed since publication

The following are not corrections under this policy: differences of interpretation, preferences for different sources, or additions of new information not yet contradicting existing content. These may be addressed in regular content updates.

Transparency

Significant factual corrections are noted at the bottom of the corrected page, including what was changed and when. Minor corrections (e.g., fixing a broken citation link, updating a date that changed) are made without a formal note but are reflected in the updated "Last reviewed" date.