How We Verify A Power List Entry

A list is a set of factual assertions about real people. This is the process each entry goes through before publication.

Identity first

We confirm that the person is who the entry says they are, in the role the entry describes, at the time of publication. Roles change, and an entry describing a position someone left is a factual error rather than a matter of interpretation.

We check against filings, official registers, institutional sources and the organization itself.

Every claim gets a source

Each factual statement in an entry — a role, a responsibility, a transaction, a tenure — is recorded against the source establishing it. Where no source exists, the claim does not run.

This is why our entries are shorter than some. We publish what we can support.

No estimated figures

We do not publish estimated net worth, estimated revenue, or any figure we have constructed ourselves. Where a number appears it comes from a filing, an official disclosure, or a statement by the party concerned, and we say which.

This rules out a category of content common in ranking journalism. We think an unsourced estimate presented as a fact is worse than no figure at all.

Right of reply

We contact the subject or their organization before publication, put the substance of the entry to them, and record their response. Declining to comment is recorded as such and is not treated as agreement.

Photographs and biography

Images are licensed or supplied with permission and credited. Biographical detail is limited to what is relevant to the assessment and publicly established.

Corrections

If we publish something wrong, we correct it on the page, say what was wrong, and date the correction. We do not quietly amend text.

Separation from commercial work

Nobody involved in selling advertising or paid features has any role in list selection, and no place on any list is available for purchase. Paid features carry a disclosure at the top of the page and are never presented as list entries.