Last updated: 16 October 2026
We write about research, and research is easy to get slightly wrong. A sample size gets misread. A finding from mice gets described as if it came from people. A study gets attributed to the wrong university. When that happens, we want to know, and we want readers to be able to see what we changed.
How to report an error
Email [email protected] with the subject line “Correction”. Please include the link to the article, the sentence you think is wrong and, if you can, a source that shows the correct information. You do not need to be an expert. Some of the most useful corrections we receive come from readers who simply noticed that a number did not add up.
A member of the editorial team reads every correction request. We aim to reply within three working days, and sooner when the error is serious.
What counts as a correction
We separate changes into three kinds and treat each one differently.
- Corrections. A factual error: a wrong figure, date, name, study result or quote, or a claim that a source does not support. We fix the text and add a dated note at the end of the article explaining what was wrong.
- Clarifications. The facts were right but the wording could mislead, for example a sentence that made a small pilot study sound like settled science. We rewrite the passage and add a clarification note.
- Updates. New research or events change the picture after we publish. We add the new information, change the “updated” date and, where it changes the article’s main point, say so in a note.
Typos, broken links and formatting fixes are made without a note, because they do not change what the article says.
How corrections appear
Correction and clarification notes sit at the bottom of the article in italics, in this form:
Correction, 12 November 2026: An earlier version of this article said the study followed 3,000 adults. It followed 300.
We do not quietly delete errors, and we do not remove articles to hide a mistake. If an article is so badly flawed that it cannot be fixed, we replace the text with an editor’s note explaining why it was withdrawn and leave that note at the original address.
Headlines and social posts
If a correction changes the meaning of a headline, we change the headline as well. Where we have shared an article that later needed a significant correction, we will share the correction in the same place when that is possible.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we handled a correction request, reply to our response and ask for it to be reviewed by a senior editor who was not involved in the original decision. You can read more about how we work in our Editorial Standards.