Accuracy and approvals

The accuracy rule

Nothing historical carries the Library's name until every claim in it has two independent sources. As a presidential library, the Library's credibility depends on getting the facts right, and a misattributed quote is the most likely way to embarrass it in public.

This applies to everyone (staff, agencies, partners and AI tools) and to every channel: web pages, captions and alt text, social posts, newsletters, press releases, decks, scripts and narration, exhibit text, quizzes, grant and donor materials, merchandise and datasets.

A claim is anything a reader could check: a quote; a date, number, name or place; an office held; a sequence ("before," "succeeded"); a superlative ("first," "only"); who is in a picture, and when and where it was taken; an anecdote told as fact.

What counts as a source

• At least one should be primary (the T.R. Papers, Library of Congress, Houghton Library, NPS, the Congressional Record, period newspapers) or an authoritative reference (the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, White House or National Archives lists, the Theodore Roosevelt Center, a standard scholarly biography).
• The two sources must be independent: two websites repeating the same article count as one.

What never counts as a source

• Any AI output, including Claude, ChatGPT or the Library's own AI assistants
• trlibrary.com itself, and tools the Library built
• The Story Guide (it governs tone, not fact)
• Wikipedia on its own

Quotes and images

• Quotes must match a verified source word for word. Check the misquotes and Did TR Really Say That? pages first.
• Image captions must match the holding institution's catalog record. No record means no specific date or list of people in the caption.
• When reputable sources disagree, say so, or use the narrower claim. Never pick one silently.

How to check: HistorianPanel

HistorianPanel is the Library's panel of AI accuracy specialists. It breaks copy into claims, checks each against two independent sources, re-checks blind, and marks each claim keep, fix, hedge or cut, with sources. It finds sources; it is never a source.

Installing this brand kit offers to install HistorianPanel too. Then ask, in plain words: "Is this caption right?", "Check this page for accuracy," "When did T.R. first come to Dakota?"

Accuracy and brand are separate checks. HistorianPanel checks whether something is true. This kit checks whether it sounds, reads and looks like the Library. Most pieces need both.

What needs review

All external work for the Library goes through Marketing & Communications, which routes it to the right reviewers. Allow extra time when a piece:

Specific figures belong in conversation more than in documents that can circulate. When in doubt, leave a number out and ask.