Editorial standards

Patriot Compass publishes American history the way a newspaper would have reported it on the day — and the current status of the U.S. flag. This page explains where our facts come from, how we check them, and what we do when we get something wrong.

Sourcing

Every story is built from the historical record: encyclopedic references, primary documents, government archives, and museum and library collections. The sources a story relies on are listed with it, and images carry their source and license.

Flag status is taken from official orders only — presidential proclamations and, for the states, governors’ orders — and each status links the order behind it.

Fact-checking

Stories are drafted with the help of AI tools working from the sources above. Before anything is published, each story is checked claim by claim against its sources; claims the sources do not support are corrected or removed. A copy edit follows, and an editor reviews every story before it is published. Nothing is published automatically.

Flag status is checked against official proclamations every thirty minutes. A detected change is confirmed by an editor before the status changes on the site.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it. Write to hello@patriotcompass.us with the story’s link and what you believe is in error. Substantive corrections are made to the story itself.

Who edits Patriot Compass

Patriot Compass is edited by the Patriot Compass desk. Questions about our standards can be sent to hello@patriotcompass.us.

Last updated September 27, 2026 · Today’s front page