Standards
Editorial standards
The methodology page describes how AAT Intelligence establishes facts. This page describes how it conducts itself.
We examine specifications, not people
Analysis addresses programmes, systems, claims and published commitments. It does not attribute a shortfall to a named individual, and it does not speculate about motive.
Where a decision-maker has made a public statement relevant to a finding, the statement is quoted and attributed. That is the extent to which individuals appear.
Every subject is measured against a stated standard
A finding is only meaningful against a benchmark chosen in advance. AAT Intelligence uses the subject’s own published targets wherever they exist, and a defined comparison set where they do not. The standard is stated before the finding.
The same standard is applied to every subject examined. A framework built for one programme is applied to its peers.
Right of reply
Where a piece reaches a critical finding about an identifiable organisation, that organisation is given a reasonable opportunity to respond before publication, and any response received is represented fairly within the piece.
Where no response is received, the piece says so rather than implying one was not sought.
We state the limits of what we know
Every piece carries a verification note recording what could not be established. Absence of evidence is reported as absence of evidence, not as evidence of absence.
Where a programme has not disclosed something, the finding is that it has not been disclosed — which is an observation about the public record, not a conclusion about the programme.
Independence
AAT Intelligence has no institutional affiliation and takes no position for or against any organisation, government or programme. Prior professional relationships bearing on a subject are disclosed within the piece.
Access is not a consideration in what gets published. A relationship that would be damaged by an accurate finding is not a reason to withhold it.
Language
- Claims are attributed to whoever made them, by name.
- Estimates are labelled as estimates wherever they appear, including in tables and figures.
- Hedging words that conceal an unverified claim — “reportedly”, “sources suggest” — are avoided in favour of naming the source.
- Findings are stated plainly. A conclusion the evidence supports is not softened; a conclusion it does not support is not published.
What AAT Intelligence does not do
- Rewrite press releases or aggregate other publications’ reporting.
- Publish a figure it cannot trace to a source.
- Predict outcomes. Analysis states what the record shows and what would have to change.
- Offer investment advice. Nothing published here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything.