WARLOCK-INDEX UNCLASSIFIED//OPEN SOURCE Strategic Research Corpus & Knowledge Arsenal

LOCAL CORPUS TERMINAL

STATUS: ONLINE

MODE: READ-ONLY

UPDATED:

Standard Global Tradecraft docs/standards/source-evaluation.md
StandardGlobalTradecraftHigh Confidence

Source Evaluation Standard

structured metadata standard, and initial corpus source-classification requirements.

Review Queue Full Index

UNCLASSIFIED//OPEN SOURCE

Standard ID: WI-STD-002

Prepared UTC: 2026-06-19T00:00:00Z

Information cutoff UTC: 2026-06-19T00:00:00Z

Source base: WARLOCK-INDEX product standard, source-register structure, structured metadata standard, and initial corpus source-classification requirements.

Analytic confidence: High for internal source-classification and source-treatment requirements.

Topics: tradecraft; source evaluation; source classes Source classes: Internal standard Safety boundary: Source evaluation and handling rules for open-source research products only.

Source Classes

WARLOCK-INDEX uses four source classes:

  • Class A: Official U.S. Government, allied government, treaty organization, or statutory reporting.
  • Class B: Reputable research institutions, academic publications, and specialized conflict monitors with transparent methods.
  • Class C: Established news organizations and professional trade reporting.
  • Class D: Social media, anonymous claims, partisan outlets, unattributed claims, or sources with unclear provenance.

Class D material should not carry a major judgment unless corroborated by stronger sources.

Reliability Notes

For each source, capture:

  • Publisher.
  • Publication date.
  • Access date/time in UTC.
  • URL or archival location.
  • Source class.
  • Known bias or institutional perspective.
  • Use case in the repository.

Corroboration Rule

A major judgment should normally be supported by at least one Class A source or two independent Class B/C sources. Current-event claims can be logged with lower confidence, but the product must say so clearly.

Official Sources Are Not Neutral By Default

Official sources are authoritative for what an institution states and often strong for structured assessments, budget data, and formal doctrine. They still reflect institutional perspective, policy emphasis, and release constraints. Analysts should identify that perspective instead of pretending it does not exist.

Source Handling

Do not copy long passages. Summarize in original language, cite the source, and quote only short phrases when exact wording is analytically necessary.

Example source entry (in registers or packets):

  • Publisher: Office of the Director of National Intelligence
  • Publication date: 2026
  • Accessed UTC: 2026-06-19T...
  • Class: A (Official U.S.)
  • Note: Annual threat framing; use for high-level judgments only.

Cross References