These are the standards every the406.news article is held to, whether it was drafted with AI assistance or reported by staff.
Accuracy and verification
We verify claims against primary sources — court records, official statistics, agency documents, and the underlying study behind a statistic — not against a press release's characterization of them. When we independently confirm a fact, we say so in the article and name what we checked. When we cannot verify a consequential claim, we hold the story rather than publish it.
Sourcing and attribution
Every article shows its source. Opinion and political framing are always attributed to the person or office that expressed them — we report what was said, we do not adopt it as our own voice. On contested matters we surface the dispute and identify who is affected.
Independence and fairness
We lead with the Montana stake and quote Montana sources. We do not run stories whose purpose is to score a political point, and we keep a bright, labeled line between news and opinion. Advertisers do not influence coverage.
Public safety and sensitive topics
Active emergencies are routed to a human immediately and never auto-published. Arrests are held for editor review; we do not adopt prosecution or defense framing about guilt before a conviction. For stories involving violence, death, or crisis, we are precise, attribute carefully, and include help resources where appropriate.
Accountability
We correct errors promptly and transparently — see our corrections policy — and we disclose our use of AI on our AI disclosure page.