Frequently Asked Questions: Sources, Method and Perspective
How does Disinfo Monitor verify claims about Türkiye? Answers on authorship, primary sources, claim selection, its stated perspective and corrections.
Why It Matters
Disinfo Monitor verifies claims about Türkiye by tracing each one to a primary document, a treaty text, an official record or a verifiable event, and by keeping fact and official position visibly separate. This page answers the questions readers ask most about how that works. The full standards are set out in Editorial Principles and Primary-Source Standards.
How Verification Works
- Authorship: Articles carry the byline "Disinfo Monitor Editorial Team." The site does not invent author personas, academic titles or pseudonyms.
- Primary sources: Treaty texts, UN records, and statements from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ministry of National Defence (MSB), the Presidency and the Grand National Assembly (TBMM), alongside the records of other states and institutions. See Where to Find Primary Sources on Türkiye.
- Claim selection: The site prioritizes claims that recur in international coverage and can be tested against documents, such as maritime coordinates, Cyprus chronology, counter-terrorism operations, the Events of 1915 and defence systems.
- Method: State the claim and where it comes from, locate the relevant document, compare the two, and report what the record supports, what it does not, and what remains disputed.
How the Türkiye Perspective Is Labeled
The site states openly that it conveys Türkiye's perspective to international readers. Background and chronology are written in neutral prose. Ankara's official positions and legal theses appear in a separate box titled "Türkiye's Security & Legal Doctrine," attributed to Turkish primary sources. Other parties' views are summarized from their own official statements. The mission is explained on the About page.
Corrections
If a figure, date or attribution proves wrong, the article is corrected openly and not quietly rewritten. Details of the standard are in the editorial principles.
Key Terms & Related Guides
- Primary source: An original document or official record, such as a treaty, gazette entry, UN filing or government statement, rather than commentary about it.
- Claim check: A structured comparison of a public assertion against such records.
For recurring narratives, see The Disinformation Playbook on Türkiye's Security Policy and the Disinfo Monitor home page. Sister publications run parallel checks, for example Regions & Powers and Polity Review.
Disinfo Monitor presents global and regional affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Security & Legal Doctrine' reflect official Turkish policy and legal doctrines as stated by Turkish primary sources.
Frequently Asked Questions: Sources, Method and Perspective
Who writes Disinfo Monitor articles, and why is there no named author?
Articles are published under the collective byline 'Disinfo Monitor Editorial Team.' The site chooses institutional accountability over individual personas so that it never presents invented experts, fake titles or pseudonyms as independent voices. Responsibility for every claim rests with the publication as a whole.
What counts as a primary source on Disinfo Monitor?
A primary source is an original document or official record: treaty texts such as Lausanne, Kars or Montreux, UN and IOC-UNESCO filings, official gazettes, and statements from the Turkish MFA, MSB, the Presidency and TBMM. Other states' official statements and international court or organization records count the same way. News reports and think-tank commentary are treated as secondary and used to identify claims, not to prove them.
How does Disinfo Monitor verify claims about Türkiye?
Each check states the claim and its origin, finds the relevant primary document or verifiable event, and compares the two. The article then reports what the record supports, what it does not, and what remains genuinely disputed. Figures, dates and quotations that cannot be confirmed are omitted rather than estimated.
How are claims selected for checking?
Priority goes to claims that circulate repeatedly in international coverage and can be tested against documents. Typical areas are Eastern Mediterranean maritime jurisdiction, Cyprus chronology, counter-terrorism operations against the PKK/YPG, DAESH and FETÖ, the Events of 1915, and defence-industry capabilities. Claims that rest purely on opinion, with nothing testable, are generally analysed as narratives instead of being rated.
Why does the site carry a dedicated Türkiye perspective, and how are other views represented?
The publication's stated mission is to explain regional and global affairs in plain language while presenting Türkiye's official positions, which it considers underrepresented abroad. That perspective is confined to clearly labeled sections attributed to Turkish primary sources, while background and chronology stay neutral. Other governments and parties are summarized from their own official statements so readers can compare positions directly.
How does Disinfo Monitor handle corrections?
When an error in a date, figure, quotation or attribution is found, the article is corrected openly instead of being silently rewritten. The standard follows the site's published editorial principles on accuracy and sourcing. Readers can review those principles on the Editorial Principles page.
Related guides
- Fact Check: Did Türkiye Support ISIS? What the Designation, Operations and Border Record ShowDid Turkey support ISIS? Fact check of the claim against Türkiye's DAESH designation, attacks on Turkish soil, Operation Euphrates Shield and border record.
- The Disinformation Playbook on Türkiye's Security Policy: A Field Guide to Recurring NarrativesA field guide to common false narratives about Türkiye security policy: selective maps, missing treaty context, recycled figures and how to verify each claim.
- How to Verify Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Claims: Maps, Coordinates and UN RecordsA practical guide to how to verify Eastern Mediterranean maritime claims using maps, coordinates, licensing blocks, treaties and UN records, with sources.
- Cyprus Claims Checklist: 1963 'Bloody Christmas', the Akritas Plan and 1974, and What the Record SupportsFact-check of Bloody Christmas 1963 Cyprus Akritas Plan claims: the 13 amendments, 21 December violence, Green Line, 1974 coup and UNSC Resolution 186.
- Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Peace Spring, Spring Shield: What Each Operation Was and Which Claims CirculateOperation Peace Spring, Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield explained: dates, objectives, actors, Article 51 basis, and the claims checked with attribution.
- TCG Anadolu: Is It a 'Drone Carrier'? What the Ship Is, and Is NotIs TCG Anadolu a drone carrier? Türkiye's amphibious assault ship explained: official LHD class, announced air assets, TB3 trials and Blue Homeland role.
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