Methodology

CaseBond records true-crime history at the level of the individual claim. Every factual claim must cite at least one source we opened and checked; that requirement is enforced by the database itself, not by editorial habit.

Verification is human-only. Community consensus can make a claim eligible, but only a human contributor's action marks anything Verified. No automation ever promotes a claim.

Corroboration is separate. We count how many independent trusted outlets — with live links — back a claim. Corroboration triages reviewer attention; it never substitutes for verification, and it decays automatically when links rot.

Corrections are public.When a claim's text changes, prior verifications are voided, the claim returns to unverified, and the correction is logged permanently — the log cannot be edited or deleted.

Legal floor. We never publish accusatory claims about private individuals who were not charged or convicted — and we treat acquitted and exonerated people as equally protected. This rule is enforced in the data layer and cannot be overridden by anyone, including us.

Contributor standing. Every signed-in contributor starts with a small baseline so their vote counts. Standing grows when verifications hold up and when someone catches one of our errors — that last one is weighted most. It eases off after a long time away and never drops below where you started. It is a trust signal that weights a vote, never a gate: more standing means more weight, not special permission.

Source lists shown on this site are the sources used and checked for each record — not an exhaustive, official, or consensus account.