About The Des Moines Sentinel

Evidence before inference

Factual claims in our investigations resolve to a declared finding in the evidence record. Context and analysis are identified separately. A compelling narrative is never a reason to make a claim stronger than its sources.

Uncertainty stays visible

Verified findings and open questions are labeled differently. When records do not establish intent, chronology, cause, or legal consequence, our reporting says so directly.

Readers can inspect the record

Stories link to specific findings, source descriptions, public data, and a SHA-256 verification manifest. The source library is part of the journalism—not an appendix hidden from readers.

Corrections are append-only

Material corrections and updates appear on the affected story with a date and explanation and remain in the public corrections ledger. We do not silently erase a published error or preserve a dramatic claim after the evidence no longer supports it.

Requests are reported by event

The public-records request ledger distinguishes an open question from a sent request and records acknowledgment, partial production, fulfillment, denial, appeal, closure, and follow-up separately. Silence, delay, and denial are not interchangeable.

Source safety starts before contact

The source-safety guide explains device and account risks before a person makes contact. Signal can reduce some exposure, but the Sentinel does not promise anonymity or absolute security that its technical or legal process cannot guarantee.

Reader promise

Show the work.

Every investigation separates what the records establish from what remains unknown. Absence of a produced record is not proof that the record does not exist. Agency correspondence is reported as the agency's position, not automatically as a binding legal conclusion.

AI tools may assist with transcription, search, extraction, drafting, or adversarial review. Their output is not a publication source and cannot clear a claim for publication. Reader-facing factual claims must resolve to reviewed findings, and human editorial judgment remains responsible for fairness, uncertainty, right of reply, and corrections.

Our published data and deployed pages are inventoried in the verification data. The complete West Des Moines surveillance record is available through what the records show.