Accuracy · Transparency · Accountability
When we get something wrong, we correct the record.
Ireland Newspaper is committed to accurate, independent and impartial reporting. This Corrections Policy explains how readers, sources and affected parties can challenge published material, how we assess concerns and how corrections, clarifications, updates, replies, editor’s notes, retractions and removal requests are handled.
Our standard: a confirmed significant factual inaccuracy should be corrected clearly, promptly and with prominence proportionate to its importance. We do not conceal material errors. At the same time, a correction is not required merely because someone dislikes accurate reporting, disagrees with a properly identified opinion or would prefer a matter of legitimate public record to disappear.
A fair process for protecting the accuracy of the record
This policy applies to articles, headlines, captions, photographs, graphics, video, audio, newsletters, social posts, live pages, automated data services and other editorial material published under the Ireland Newspaper brand. It covers factual accuracy, material omissions, misleading presentation and appropriate remedies.
We consider concerns from people directly affected, authorised representatives, readers, sources, public bodies and other organisations. A complainant does not need legal representation. Specific information and supporting evidence usually allow a faster and more reliable assessment.
Accuracy first
We compare the challenged material with reliable sources, records, publication context and relevant new evidence.
Materiality matters
The remedy reflects whether an issue changes the meaning, fairness, reputation, practical effect or reader understanding of the report.
Prompt attention
Urgent safety, legal, identification or serious reputational concerns may be prioritised while a full review continues.
Visible remedies
Significant corrections should not be hidden through a silent edit when readers need to understand what changed.
Fair treatment
We consider the complainant’s evidence and the original reporting fairly without surrendering independent editorial judgement.
Complete record
Updates, corrections and relevant outcomes help preserve an accurate account rather than rewriting history without explanation.
Factual errors, misleading impressions and significant omissions
- Incorrect facts: names, dates, locations, figures, quotations, titles, relationships, events or other verifiable details.
- Materially misleading presentation: a headline, caption, image, edit, chart or omission that creates a substantially inaccurate impression.
- Incorrect attribution: a statement, image, document, position or action attributed to the wrong person or organisation.
- Outdated or incomplete developing information: a material later event that should reasonably be added to avoid a continuing misleading impression.
- Failure to represent a response fairly: a significant reply was omitted, distorted or presented without necessary context.
- Labelling or provenance concerns: advertising, opinion, satire, archived material, automated content or synthetic media was not identified appropriately.
Opinion is treated differently from fact. A properly identified opinion is not corrected merely because readers disagree with its conclusion. However, a significant factual error underlying that opinion, a fabricated quotation or a materially false description of another person’s position may require correction or clarification.
Different problems require different responses
The chosen remedy depends on the nature, seriousness, prominence, age and continuing effect of the material. More than one remedy may be used.
Correction
Used when a material factual statement is confirmed to be wrong. The inaccurate text is corrected and an explanatory note is added where readers need to know what changed.
Clarification
Used when individual words may be accurate but the wording, context or omission creates a materially misleading or ambiguous impression requiring explanation.
Update
Adds significant new information to a developing story. An update does not necessarily mean the earlier publication was inaccurate when published.
Editor’s note
Provides important context about the reporting, dispute, sourcing, review, legal status or substantial change when a simple correction is insufficient.
Reply or response
Offers a fair opportunity to address significant criticism or an unresolved factual dispute. Replies remain subject to verification, editing, relevance, law and this policy.
Retraction, removal or restriction
Reserved for exceptional circumstances such as fundamentally unreliable content, serious unlawful harm, binding legal requirements, safety risks or defects that cannot be cured adequately by correction.
What happens after a request is received
We aim to handle concerns without unnecessary delay. The time required depends on urgency, complexity, source availability, legal sensitivity, volume of material and whether further evidence or specialist review is needed.
Information that helps us investigate
- Your identity and role: your name, organisation if applicable, contact details and relationship to the subject.
- Exact publication: full article URL, headline, publication date and, for audio or video, the relevant timestamp.
- Challenged material: quote the precise sentence, headline, caption, image, figure or omission concerned.
- Reason: explain clearly why the material is inaccurate, misleading, unfairly incomplete or improperly labelled.
- Evidence: provide reliable documents, official records, source links, complete correspondence or other relevant support.
- Requested remedy: state whether you seek correction, clarification, update, reply, removal or another outcome.
- Urgency: identify any immediate safety risk, court restriction, protected identity or time-sensitive public harm.
Email subject
“Ireland Newspaper — Correction Request”
Send to support@bigmedia24.com.
Do not send original identity documents, passwords, private keys or unnecessary sensitive personal information. We may request proportionate identity or authority verification where needed to protect another person’s rights or confidential information.
Create correction emailEvidence, significance and proportionality
Reliability of evidence
We consider source proximity, authenticity, completeness, date, official status, corroboration, possible motivation and whether the material can be independently verified.
Material significance
A minor spelling or formatting issue differs from an error affecting identity, conduct, reputation, public safety, legal status, financial meaning or the central conclusion.
Publication context
Headlines, captions, surrounding paragraphs, linked material, publication time and what was reasonably known at that time are considered together.
Continuing impact
We consider prominence, audience, search visibility, republication, the age of the item and whether the challenged information continues to cause material harm.
Public interest and rights
Freedom of expression and information are weighed against accuracy, privacy, dignity, reputation, safety, fair-trial rights and applicable legal duties.
Proportionate remedy
The response should correct the relevant problem without unnecessarily removing accurate information or creating a new misleading impression.
How corrections work across different formats
Breaking and developing news
Early reports may change as facts emerge. We distinguish confirmed information from preliminary claims and update material as reliable information becomes available. A later development is not automatically evidence that the earlier report was wrong.
Court and investigation outcomes
Where earlier reporting identified a charge, proceeding, official investigation or serious allegation, a significant later outcome may warrant an update when brought to our attention and reasonably verified, subject to legal restrictions and editorial relevance.
Automated and live data
Weather, markets, results and other feeds may contain temporary provider or transmission errors. We may correct values, add a notice, suspend a feed or identify a period of unreliable data. Source and timestamp information help assess the issue.
AI-assisted material
Errors arising from artificial intelligence, automated translation, transcription or synthetic media are corrected under the same standard as any other error. A missing or misleading AI label may itself require correction or clarification.
Social posts, newsletters and alerts
Where technically and reasonably possible, a significant error may be corrected in the original channel or through a follow-up message. The website version may carry the complete correction record.
Third-party copies and search engines
We can correct material under our control but cannot guarantee immediate changes to cached pages, screenshots, archives, syndication partners, social platforms or search results. Where appropriate, we may notify a relevant third party.
Correction and deletion are not the same remedy
An accurate news archive has continuing journalistic and historical value. Requests to remove, anonymise, restrict or de-index content are therefore assessed separately and case by case, taking account of applicable law and the competing rights involved.
Removal may be considered
Relevant circumstances may include a binding legal requirement, protected identity, immediate safety risk, fundamentally unreliable publication, unlawful personal data processing, exceptional and disproportionate continuing harm, or a defect that cannot be cured adequately through correction, clarification or anonymisation.
Removal is not automatic
Content is not normally removed solely because it is embarrassing, unfavourable, old, commercially inconvenient, disagreed with or no longer desired. The right to erasure is not absolute and may be balanced against freedom of expression, information, legal obligations, public interest and legal claims.
Data-protection requests: a request concerning access, rectification, restriction, objection or erasure of personal data should identify the relevant information and be submitted under our Privacy Policy. We may need to verify identity or authority before disclosing or changing personal information.
Important practical distinctions
Will a small typo receive a correction note?
Minor spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting or style errors may be fixed without a formal note where they do not alter meaning. A visible note is more likely where the change concerns a significant fact, quotation, allegation, identity or material impression.
Can I demand the wording of the correction?
You may propose wording, but Ireland Newspaper retains editorial responsibility for the form, content, placement and prominence of any remedy. The correction must itself be accurate, fair, proportionate and legally suitable.
Does updating an article mean the original was inaccurate?
No. Developing stories may be updated when new events occur or better information becomes available. A correction note is used where the earlier publication contained a significant error or misleading impression requiring acknowledgment.
Can an anonymous complaint be considered?
Yes, if it contains sufficient specific and verifiable information. However, anonymity may limit our ability to ask questions, assess authority, disclose confidential material or communicate an outcome.
What if my complaint is rejected?
You may send concise new evidence or explain a material issue you believe was overlooked. Repetitive submissions without relevant new information may not receive further substantive review. Any independent legal or regulatory rights remain unaffected.
Can abusive or threatening messages be refused?
Yes. We may restrict communication that is threatening, discriminatory, abusive, knowingly false, automated, spam-like or persistently repetitive. A legitimate factual issue may still be assessed separately where sufficient information is available.
Does this policy claim Press Council membership?
No. This is Ireland Newspaper’s own policy. Reference to recognised press standards does not claim membership, accreditation, endorsement or submission to an external complaints body unless that status is expressly confirmed elsewhere.
Does submitting a request waive legal rights?
No. Using this editorial process does not, by itself, waive rights available under applicable law. This policy is not legal advice, does not suspend legal deadlines and does not guarantee that a particular external remedy or procedure is available.
Help us keep the public record accurate.
Send the exact URL, identify the disputed material, explain the error or misleading impression and include reliable supporting evidence. Clear, specific requests can be assessed more effectively.