Corrections & Clarifications Policy | The Gazette News | Independent. Human-Centred. Impactful

Effective Date: March 2026 | Last Updated: March 2026 | Version 1.0

Our Commitment to Accuracy

The Gazette News holds accuracy as the most fundamental obligation of independent journalism. We verify before we publish, we check before we quote, and we confirm before we assert. But journalism — even at its most careful — is a human enterprise. Mistakes happen.

What separates credible journalism from careless reporting is not the absence of error. It is how an organisation responds when an error is discovered. The Gazette News responds with speed, transparency, and without defensiveness. We do not quietly rewrite articles to erase mistakes. We do not delete stories because they have become inconvenient. We do not pretend errors did not happen.

When we are wrong, we say so — clearly, promptly, and on the record.

This policy sets out exactly how we do that.

1. Types of Errors and How We Handle Each

Not all errors are equal. The Gazette News applies a graduated response proportionate to the nature and severity of each mistake.

Minor Errors

Minor errors include spelling mistakes, typographical errors, incorrect job titles or designations, wrong dates that do not affect the substance of the story, and similar small inaccuracies that do not materially change the meaning or thrust of the published content.

Minor errors are corrected directly in the article text without a formal correction notice, unless the error — though small — could have caused a factual misunderstanding among readers. Where any doubt exists, a correction notice is added.

Factual Errors

A factual error is any inaccuracy in a published article that misrepresents a verifiable fact — including but not limited to incorrect statistics or figures, wrong names, misattributed quotes, inaccurate descriptions of events, incorrect identification of individuals in photographs, and errors in dates, locations, or sequences of events that affect the meaning of the story.

All factual errors are corrected with a formal correction notice. The notice states what was originally published, what the correct information is, and the date and time the correction was made. The notice is placed at the top of the article where it can be seen without scrolling, and at the bottom where relevant for reference.

Significant Errors

A significant error is a factual inaccuracy that materially alters the meaning, conclusion, or central thrust of a published story. This includes errors that implicate an innocent person in wrongdoing, errors that misrepresent the outcome of a legal proceeding, errors that significantly misstate a financial figure, or errors that change the core finding of an investigation.

Significant errors receive a prominent correction notice at the top of the affected article. In serious cases, the Editor-in-Chief will consider publishing a standalone correction notice as a separate item on the site. The article may be substantially revised, with the extent of revisions disclosed in the correction notice.

Updates to Developing Stories

Where new, verified information significantly changes the picture of a developing news story — without the original report being wrong at the time of publication — the article is updated with an “UPDATED” label showing the date and time of the update, and a brief note explaining what new information has been added or changed.

Clarifications

A clarification is issued where the original article was not factually wrong but was expressed in a way that could reasonably be misread or misunderstood. A clarification note explains what the article intended to convey and how a reader might have misunderstood it.

2. Correction Notice Format

All formal correction notices on The Gazette News follow a consistent format so that readers can immediately recognise them. The standard correction notice reads as follows:

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct a factual error. The original article stated [exact original wording]. The correct information is [correct wording]. The Gazette News regrets the error. Corrected: [Day, Date, Time, Timezone].

For significant errors where the extent of the revision is material, the notice will additionally state: “The article has been substantially revised to reflect the correct information. The original version is retained in our editorial records.”

Correction notices are never removed from published articles. They form part of the permanent record of the journalism we have published.

3. What We Do Not Do

To be clear about our corrections standards, the following practices are prohibited at The Gazette News:

We do not silently edit or rewrite articles to remove or obscure errors without a correction notice
We do not delete published articles to avoid accountability for mistakes, except in the specific circumstances described in Section 7 (Unpublish Requests)
We do not issue correction notices that are vague, minimising, or that fail to clearly state what was wrong and what is correct
We do not delay issuing corrections while waiting for a more convenient time to publish them
We do not refuse to correct errors because the correction is embarrassing or because the subject of the correction is a commercial partner
We do not issue corrections under pressure that are not genuinely warranted

4. How to Submit a Correction Request

The Gazette News actively welcomes correction requests from readers, sources, public officials, institutions, and any individual who has reason to believe that a published article contains a factual error.

To submit a correction request:

Email: corrections@thegazette.ng
Subject line: Correction Request — [Article Headline]

Your submission should include:

The full URL of the article you believe contains an error
The specific passage, sentence, or figure you believe is incorrect — quoted directly from the article
What you believe the correct information to be
Any supporting evidence you can provide — official documents, court records, published data, photographs, or other primary sources
Your name and contact information so we can follow up if needed

What happens after you submit:

We will acknowledge receipt of your correction request within 24 hours. Our editorial team will investigate the claim against the original sources used in the article and any new evidence you have provided. We will provide you with a substantive editorial response within 48 hours of acknowledgment — either confirming that a correction will be issued, explaining why we stand by the original reporting, or requesting additional time where the matter requires deeper investigation.

Where a correction is issued as a result of your submission, we will notify you directly.

5. Disagreements with Our Editorial Decision

Where a correction request is made and The Gazette News determines — after investigation — that the original article was accurate, we will explain our reasoning clearly to the person who submitted the request.

If you disagree with our editorial decision, you may escalate the matter to the Editor-in-Chief at editor@thegazette.ng, setting out the grounds for your disagreement and any additional evidence not previously considered.

The Editor-in-Chief’s decision is final on matters of editorial accuracy.

If you believe our handling of your complaint falls below professional standards, you may refer the matter to the Nigerian Press Council or other applicable press regulatory body in your jurisdiction.

6. Right of Reply

Where a published Gazette News article contains negative factual reporting about an individual, institution, company, or government body that was not contacted before publication — for whatever reason — that subject is entitled to submit a right-of-reply statement for publication.

A right of reply must be:

Submitted within a reasonable time of the original article’s publication
Factually focused — it must respond to the specific factual claims made in the article
Free of defamatory statements about third parties
Submitted in writing to editor@thegazette.ng with the subject line: “Right of Reply — [Article Headline]”

Where a substantive and credible right-of-reply statement is submitted, The Gazette News will publish it — either appended to the original article with a clear label, or as a separate response piece where the length and complexity of the response warrants it. We will not edit the substance of a right-of-reply statement, though we reserve the right to edit for length and to remove content that is defamatory, irrelevant, or legally objectionable.

We do not accept right-of-reply submissions that are motivated purely by reputational management, political convenience, or a desire to suppress accurate journalism. The right-of-reply process is a tool for factual correction and fair response — not a mechanism for controlling our editorial output.

7. Unpublish Requests

The Gazette News does not routinely unpublish verified news content. Removing published journalism erases the public record and undermines the transparency that credible news organisations are obligated to maintain. An article that was accurate when published does not become inaccurate because its subject finds it inconvenient.

We may consider an unpublish request only in the following specific circumstances:

Where the continued publication of an article poses a verifiable, serious, and ongoing risk to the physical safety of an identifiable individual
Where the subject of the article was a minor at the time the events were reported, and their identification creates a continuing harm
Where a valid court order from a Nigerian court of competent jurisdiction requires the removal of the content
Where the article was published as a result of fabrication, fundamental misrepresentation, or a serious editorial failure so grave that correction alone is insufficient to serve the public interest
Where the article contains personal information about a private individual that was published in error and whose continued presence constitutes a breach of their privacy with no countervailing public interest

Each unpublish request is reviewed individually by the Editor-in-Chief. The burden of proof rests with the person requesting unpublication to demonstrate that their case falls within one of the categories above.

We do not unpublish articles on the basis of:

The subject’s discomfort, embarrassment, or reputational preference
Commercial or political pressure from advertisers, sponsors, or government bodies
A change of mind by a named source who was accurately quoted
The passage of time alone

To submit an unpublish request, contact: editor@thegazette.ng with the subject line: “Unpublish Request — [Article Headline]” and a full written explanation of the grounds for your request with supporting evidence.

8. Corrections and Our Journalism Standards

The Gazette News’s corrections record is a measure of our editorial standards — not evidence of their absence. A publication that corrects errors visibly and promptly is a publication that takes accuracy seriously. We publish corrections because our readers deserve to know when we have got something wrong, not in spite of that fact.

We track all corrections internally. Patterns of error — whether in a particular beat, from a particular source type, or in a particular type of reporting — are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and used to strengthen our verification procedures.

Our corrections record is available to any reader on request.

9. Amendments to This Policy

This Corrections Policy will be reviewed annually and updated as necessary. Material amendments will be noted with an updated version number and effective date at the top of this page.