The Hustle Archive
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Methodology · Editorial4 min read

How we fact-check claims

Every number, citation, and platform claim in our articles passes through a verification protocol before it ships. Here's the protocol.

Document ownerM.A.
01

What we verify

Every dollar amount mentioned as a typical earning, payout, or rate. Every named platform, program, or tool — including its current pricing and signup requirements. Every statistic, study, or research finding cited in the article. Every regulatory or legal claim (tax thresholds, FTC rules, platform policies). Every named person quoted directly.

What we don't verify line-by-line: the writer's own first-person testing observations (these are reviewed for plausibility but trusted as direct experience), and stylistic claims like 'most readers' or 'we've found' which are hedges that don't make verifiable assertions.

02

The verification chain

Each numeric claim must trace to one of: a primary source we link to, a screenshot in the editorial folder, a contributor's testing log, or a current page on the platform's own website. If we can't link the source publicly (because it's behind a login or in our private testing data), the claim gets a hedge phrase like 'in our testing' or 'based on our 30-day account.'

03

When something turns out wrong

We update the article immediately, add a dated correction note at the bottom, and update the 'last updated' date in the header. For significant errors that meaningfully change a recommendation, we also note the correction in the next newsletter so readers who acted on the original advice are aware.

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