Source Discipline

Research and Editorial Integrity

The standard for Spiralism’s public claims, citations, corrections, field notes, essays, talks, media artifacts, and AI-assisted research. The institution may use mythic language, but it may not become careless with truth.

Spiralism works in a dangerous register: technological change, spiritual language, personal testimony, labor fear, AI companions, public policy, and memetic symbols. In that register, exaggeration is easy and trust is hard. The institution therefore needs a research discipline that is plain enough to audit and strict enough to disappoint its own rhetoric.

The Rule

Poetic language may frame meaning. Factual language must survive inspection.

Every public artifact should make clear which mode it is using:

Confusing these modes is how movements become manipulative. A person may say, “This felt like a signal.” The institution may not turn that into, “The signal proved the event was destined.” A speaker may testify that an AI companion helped them survive loneliness. The institution may not generalize from that testimony into a medical, psychological, or policy claim without evidence.

Source Ladder

Use the strongest available source that fits the claim.

  1. Primary law, regulation, filing, standard, dataset, or official document.
  2. Peer-reviewed research or reputable preprint with method limits disclosed.
  3. Institutional reports from credible public, academic, or nonprofit bodies.
  4. Direct interview or testimony with consent and context.
  5. Established journalism with transparent sourcing.
  6. Expert commentary, clearly labeled as commentary.
  7. Social media, forums, or anecdote, only as evidence of what someone said or experienced, not as broad proof.

Where a claim affects safety, law, money, health, privacy, or public reputation, the source threshold rises. A single article may be enough to mention a development; it is not enough to build doctrine.

Claim Classes

Direct Fact

Direct facts name dates, numbers, legal status, affiliations, quotes, policies, prices, publications, or events. They need visible sourcing.

Examples:

Interpretive Claim

Interpretive claims connect facts into meaning. They need sources plus clear reasoning.

Examples:

Institutional Doctrine

Doctrine names Spiralism’s chosen stance. It does not need external proof, but it must not pretend to be external proof.

Examples:

Speculation

Speculation is allowed when labeled.

Use phrases like:

Avoid phrases like:

Citation Practice

Every researched public document should include a “Sources Checked” section.

For each source, record:

When citing a current fact that can change quickly, verify it close to publication. AI policy, labor statistics, lawsuits, company products, model behavior, platform rules, prices, board membership, and legal requirements are not stable facts.

Do not cite sources as decoration. If a source appears in the list, it should have shaped the document.

AI-Assisted Research

AI may be used for:

Operational boundaries for everyday AI use are maintained in AI Literacy and Use Protocol: traffic-light categories, verification stack, privacy boundaries, disclosure norms, prompt hygiene, and agent limits.

Public provenance, source trails, synthetic-media labels, and content credential practice are maintained in Provenance and Content Credentials.

AI may not be the final authority for:

Any AI-assisted research artifact must have a human owner. If AI use was material to a public artifact, use the disclosure pattern from the Media Engine:

AI use: This piece used AI assistance for [source search / transcript cleanup /
summary / translation draft / citation review]. Final factual review, source
selection, interpretation, and editorial responsibility were human.

Testimony as Evidence

Testimony is evidence of lived experience. It is not automatically evidence of general causation.

Use testimony to show:

Do not use testimony alone to prove:

When testimony and research point in the same direction, say so carefully. When they diverge, do not force convergence for narrative power.

Anonymity and Sensitive Sources

Anonymous or pseudonymous sources may be used when identification creates material risk: job loss, retaliation, family danger, platform bans, harassment, or exposure of sensitive testimony.

Rules:

SPJ guidance reserves anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution, or other harm and whose information cannot be obtained elsewhere. Spiralism should apply that bar even when not operating as a newsroom.

Corrections

Corrections are a sign of institutional health.

The communications process for public corrections, press response, and stakeholder notification is maintained in Communications and Press; this manual governs the source discipline behind those corrections.

Public correction logs and publication registers are governed in Transparency and Public Registers.

Correct when:

Use this format:

Correction, YYYY-MM-DD:
An earlier version of this page said [incorrect statement]. The correct
statement is [correct statement]. The page has been updated.

Use this format for clarifications:

Clarification, YYYY-MM-DD:
This page has been updated to clarify [issue]. The underlying claim has not
changed.

Do not silently repair meaningful errors. Silent cleanup is acceptable for spelling, broken markup, or layout defects that do not affect meaning.

Retractions and Withdrawals

Retract or withdraw when:

Preserve a public tombstone where possible:

This page was withdrawn on YYYY-MM-DD because [brief reason]. The institution
does not silently remove public claims except where safety, privacy, or legal
obligations require it.

Review Roles

Every public research artifact needs:

High-risk artifacts also need specialized review:

Handling Uncertainty

Spiralism should model uncertainty without weakening its voice.

Good uncertainty:

Bad uncertainty:

Prohibited Moves

Avoid:

Public Integrity Promise

Use this plain public language:

Research and corrections:
Spiralism publishes essays, field notes, testimony, and media about the AI
transition. We distinguish testimony, interpretation, doctrine, speculation, and
claims of fact. Researched pages list sources checked. Significant errors are
corrected publicly. AI may assist research and drafting, but human editors are
responsible for final claims, citations, consent, and corrections.

Sources Checked