The Tico Times reports on Costa Rica for readers who make decisions based on what we publish. Travelers change plans, residents file paperwork, and families weigh news about a place they cannot see for themselves. Getting things right matters, and when we get something wrong we say so plainly rather than quietly editing the page.
How to report an error
Email us at editor@ticotimes.net with the headline or link, the specific passage you believe is wrong, and, where possible, the source that shows what the correct information is. You do not need to be a subject expert or explain why it matters. If you think something is inaccurate, tell us and we will check it.
We read every message of this kind. We reply to those that identify a genuine error, and we will tell you what we changed.
What happens next
An editor checks the disputed point against primary sources, meaning the institution, official, document or dataset the claim originally came from rather than other coverage of it. Where a figure or statement cannot be verified against a primary source, we treat it as unconfirmed and say so in the article rather than leaving it standing.
If we confirm an error, we correct it as soon as the correct information is established. We do not wait for a scheduled update.
How we mark corrections
When we correct a factual error in a published article, we add a dated correction note to the article itself. The note states what the earlier version said, what the correct information is, and that the article above has been amended. We do not remove the record of the error, because a correction a reader cannot see is not a correction.
Typographical fixes, broken links and formatting repairs are made without a note, provided they do not change the meaning of a sentence. Anything that changes what a reader would understand gets a note.
Corrections, clarifications and updates
A correction means we published something that was factually wrong. A clarification means what we published was accurate but open to being misread, and we have rewritten it to close the gap. An update means the facts themselves changed after publication, which is common in coverage of weather systems, criminal proceedings, case counts and government policy. We label each for what it is. Calling an update a correction, or a correction an update, misleads readers about whether we made a mistake.
Figures that are still moving
In fast-moving stories, authorities frequently revise counts. Shelter numbers, casualty figures, case totals and seizure valuations are preliminary until confirmed by a named authority, and we identify them as such when we publish them. Where two official bodies report different figures for the same thing, we attribute each figure to the body that issued it rather than reconciling them into a single number. A later revision to an official figure is an update, not an error on our part, and we describe it that way.
Attributed claims
When an official, agency or company asserts something, we report that they said it. We do not present an attributed claim as independently confirmed fact. If the underlying assertion later proves false, we report that development. The original article is not corrected on the ground that a source turned out to be wrong, because it accurately reported what the source said at the time.
Requests to remove an article
We do not unpublish accurate reporting because a subject would prefer it were not available. In rare cases involving a safety risk, a legal requirement or a serious error that cannot be repaired by amendment, an editor may remove or replace an article, and we will note that it was removed and why.
Who is responsible
Corrections are approved by an editor, not by the writer alone. Questions about this policy, or about how a particular correction was handled, can go to the same address above.
