Foreign Policy Claims Checklist for Political Journalism

Record verbatim wording, venue, time zone, and a URL to the original video, transcript, or post. Store in a claim sheet so every subsequent edit references the same canonical record.

Apply tags like NATO burden-sharing, tariffs, sanctions, treaty status, summit diplomacy, or nuclear talks. These tags route you to standardized source packs and the right desk editors.

Check whether the clip is full, edited, subtitled, or a stitched remix. Compare against pool feeds or original platform uploads and note ellipses that could alter meaning.

Decide whether the item is a live debunk, a quick note, or a full explainer. Set an internal clock, assign roles, and notify the editor of expected deliverables.

Flag claims tied to classified programs, ongoing operations, or live litigation. Loop standards and legal early to shape wording and evidence thresholds.

Use official NATO portals and archives for communiqués, the Washington Treaty, and annual defense expenditure tables. Capture document IDs and publication dates.

Collect State Department press briefings, DoD releases, OMB budget tables, and CRS reports via Congress.gov. Save PDFs and transcript versions for auditability.

Search Treasury OFAC SDN and NS-PLC lists, Commerce BIS Entity and MEU lists, and EU Council sanctions regs. Note effective dates, licensing guidance, and jurisdiction.

Use BEA international transactions and Census FT-900 for goods, services, and bilateral detail. Avoid mixing nominal and real series or different seasonal adjustments.

Consult Treaties in Force, the Senate treaty database, and the UN Treaty Collection. Note whether an arrangement is an executive agreement rather than a ratified treaty.

Calculate defense expenditure as a share of GDP using NATO's same-year current price method. Do not substitute IMF GDP or mix currency bases without stating adjustments.

Present the bilateral goods deficit from Census and the total balance including services from BEA. Label the series and time window explicitly to prevent apples-to-oranges comparisons.

Cite the statutory rate (MFN, Section 301, 232) and the realized average rate from customs data. Include effective dates, product exclusions, and phaseouts to avoid inflated claims.

Differentiate FMF grants, Foreign Military Sales vs Direct Commercial Sales, loan guarantees, and drawdowns under the Presidential Drawdown Authority. Link to DSCA notifications.

Count sanctioned entities, sectors, and instruments, and list carve-outs like humanitarian or wind-down licenses. Include renewal or sunset dates to reflect current scope.

Create a tick-tock of meetings, readouts, sanctions, tariffs, resolutions, and military movements before and after the statement. This reduces cherry-picking and hindsight bias.

Use official readouts, foreign ministry transcripts, and, if needed, a bilingual producer to confirm sensitive language choices. Note whether the translation is official or newsroom-made.

Tie actions to IEEPA, AECA, War Powers Resolution, INKSNA, USTR Section 301, or relevant executive orders. If no clear authority exists, state that gap explicitly.

Clarify the difference among Article 5 alliances, status of forces agreements, basing MOUs, and non-treaty partnerships. Mislabeling can mislead audiences about obligations.

Match fiscal vs calendar years, nominal vs real dollars, and comparable policy regimes. State the baseline and rationale in the nut graf to preempt pushback.

Embed deep links to PDFs or databases and quote the exact clause, row, or footnote. Time-stamp the version you used and store a local copy for audit trails.

Use CRS specialists, reputable academics, and former officials. Include disclosures about grants, consulting, or affiliations that could shape their analysis.

If evidence shows a claim is false or unsupported, say so early and plainly. Then provide scope, caveats, and what is unknown instead of platforming a counter-quote with no facts.

Grant anonymity only for verifiable factual context, record the justification in the CMS, and corroborate with documents or a second independent source before publishing.

Track data updates, corrections, and added documents in a visible changelog. Include the date, what changed, and why to keep readers and editors aligned.

For claims involving classified programs, export controls, or active litigation, route the draft to standards and legal. Adjust language to avoid unintentionally confirming sensitive details.

Ensure the verdict and scope in the hed match the body, and include jurisdiction or time limits. Remove absolutist phrasing when the evidence is partial or evolving.

Store claim text, tags, date, sources, verdict, dataset IDs, and legal authorities cited. Structured fields power search, timelines, and future compendiums.

Create cards or threads with the claim, a concise verdict, and a direct link to the primary document. Add a one-line caveat when data is provisional or newly revised.

Save PDFs, web archives, and transcript .txt files, and record hashes or checksums. Keep a desk-level repository with standardized filenames and dates for fast retrieval.