Evidence & Source Policy
Evidence on INTEL should be traceable to what was actually submitted and should preserve enough context for another person to evaluate it.
Verification states
Community evidence enters INTEL as unverified unless the platform records another review state. “Verified” means the recorded verification process was satisfied; it does not mean INTEL guarantees every statement in the material is true.
Source and provenance
When available, identify the source, originating organization or person, source URL, relevant date, document type, and context. Do not intentionally strip provenance or falsely attribute a source.
Authenticity and alterations
Do not fabricate evidence or deceptively alter a document, image, recording, screenshot, dataset, or other material. Material edits, excerpts, annotations, redactions, conversions, or transformations that could affect interpretation should be disclosed.
Primary and secondary sources
Prefer original records where reasonably available. Secondary reporting can provide context but should not be represented as the underlying primary record.
Redaction and minimization
Remove irrelevant highly sensitive personal information when it is not necessary to understand the evidence. A public record is not automatically appropriate to republish in full when a narrower excerpt or redaction preserves the relevant public-interest value.
Disputed evidence
Evidence may be labeled disputed, corrected, superseded, restricted, or removed while preserving appropriate audit history. A dispute does not automatically require deletion when preservation is necessary to maintain an accurate investigation record.
Illegal or dangerous material
Do not submit material whose possession or distribution is unlawful, malware, exploit payloads, intimate imagery shared without authorization, child sexual abuse material, or material submitted primarily to facilitate violence or serious wrongdoing.
Evidence files
INTEL may enforce file-size and file-type limits and may reject, quarantine, restrict, or remove files that cannot be safely handled.