Editorial standards
How Gustrion reports the news
Our editorial standards, in plain language: what we source, how we verify, when we label analysis, and how we correct mistakes. This page is for readers who want to know how the sausage gets made.
What we cover
Gustrion covers U.S. politics: the 2026 midterms, the figures driving the conversation, the policy fights shaping the balance of power, and the state races that test the national mood. We stay in that lane rather than trying to cover everything.
That focus is deliberate. It is what lets us go deeper than a general news feed. A reader who comes to us for a House race in Pennsylvania should not have to scroll past concert reviews to find it, and a reader who wants to understand why a committee vote matters should get the vote, the players, and the consequence in the same read.
When a story falls outside that lane, we say so and we point you to outlets that cover it well. Narrow coverage done carefully beats broad coverage done thinly.
Verification means checking a claim against the primary source where one exists — the filing, not the summary of the filing.
Where our reporting comes from
We build on wire-service reporting, court filings, official election data, and direct sourcing.
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Wire services and major outlets
Reuters and CNN Politics are among the outlets we reference for straight-news baselines, and we say so when we do. We do not republish another outlet's work as our own. When we rely on someone else's reporting, we credit it and link to it.
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Primary documents
Court filings, committee records, and official election data carry more weight in our reporting than any summary of them. When a document is sealed or incomplete, we describe the gap instead of filling it with an assumption.
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Direct sourcing
Interviews, on-the-record statements, and correspondence with campaigns and officials give a story its texture. A quote that arrives secondhand is checked against the person who said it before it reaches a reader.
News
What happened
A news story reports the event, the vote, the ruling, or the statement, with the sourcing attached. It answers what happened, who was involved, and what is confirmed. It does not tell you what to think about it.
Analysis
What it means
An analysis piece explains consequence, context, and what to watch next, and it is marked clearly so you know what you are reading. It still has to stand on facts. The difference is the job the piece is doing.
Opinion is labeled as opinion and signed by its author. Mixed pieces carry a label at the top so the reader is never guessing. We do not blur the line to make a headline land harder, because a reader who cannot tell news from argument stops trusting both.
How we verify
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Take the claim
A claim is written down exactly as it was made, by whoever made it, with the date. Paraphrasing at this stage is how a small overstatement turns into a wrong story.
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Find the origin
We work back to the first source: the ruling itself, the certified count, the original statement. A summary of a filing is not the filing, and an election result comes from the official count, not from a projection.
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Check the detail
Names, titles, dollar amounts, dates, and vote totals are checked line by line. Numbers get checked twice, because a transposed digit is the kind of error a reader remembers.
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Publish or hold
When we cannot verify something, we say so or leave it out. Speed is a priority, but not at the cost of getting it wrong. A story that holds a day is easier to live with than a correction that runs for a week.
Sourcing and anonymity
We use anonymous sources only when the information is important and cannot be obtained another way. When we do, we explain why the source is anonymous and what they have to gain or lose. Anonymity is a tool for getting verified facts, not a way to publish speculation. If a source cannot be verified, we do not use them.
A reader should be able to weigh a claim for themselves, which means knowing where it came from. That is the whole point of the label. If we cannot give you enough to judge the sourcing, the story is not ready.
See the key political figuresCorrections policy
When we are wrong, we say so. Corrections appear on the article and in a running log, and we note what changed. We do not quietly edit a story to erase a mistake. If you spot an error, the contact page has a direct route to the editorial team.
The log lists the date of the correction, the article it affects, and the substance of the change. A typo fix that does not alter meaning is noted separately from a substantive correction, so a reader can see the difference at a glance.
Corrections are how a publication earns trust over time. We would rather hand you a visible correction than a quiet rewrite.
Report an errorOpinion and guest contributions
Opinion pieces are clearly labeled and signed. Guest contributors are identified with their relevant affiliations, so a reader knows who is making the argument and what they do the rest of the year.
Opinion does not get to state unverified facts as fact. If a guest piece makes a factual claim, we check it before publication, and we ask the contributor for the material behind it. The label tells you it is an argument, not a news report.
Contributors who would rather not have their claims checked are free to publish elsewhere. That is the trade: a signed column and a check before it runs.
What we do not do
The boundary matters as much as the promise. If you see us doing any of the following, tell us. That is what the contact page is for.
- We do not fabricate quotes, metrics, or sources. Not for a striking opener, not under deadline pressure.
- We do not publish a story to drive a preferred outcome. The result of a race is not our business to shape.
- We do not use anonymous sources to launder speculation. An unnamed claim needs a reason and a check.
- We do not treat every horse-race poll as a story. A single poll from a single week rarely changes anything.
- We do not delete a story to make an earlier mistake disappear. Errors get corrected in the open.
Questions readers ask
The three that come up most often in our inbox, answered the same way we would answer them by email.
How do you decide what is news and what is analysis?
News reports what happened, with facts and sourcing. Analysis explains what it means and is labeled at the top. We keep the two separate on the page, not just in the URL.
Do you use anonymous sources?
Only when the information is important and cannot be obtained another way. When we do, we explain why the source is anonymous and what they have to gain or lose.
How do I report an error?
Use the contact page. Corrections appear on the article and in a running log, and we note what changed.
Where to go next
If you want to see these standards at work, start with our coverage. If you have something we should know — a document, a tip, a correction — send it to the editorial team and it will be read by a person.
Read the coverage
Race-by-race reporting on the 2026 midterms, state by state, seat by seat.
2026 MidtermsWatch the races
Seat changes, recount rules, and the state contests that decide control.
Election WatchGustrion, 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20004, United States. Editorial hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET. Corrections and tips: [email protected]