CalmStatusPractical guide

When a published fact changes

How to correct a published incident update

Correct a customer-facing incident update without silently rewriting the record: identify the changed fact, publish the verified replacement, align every used channel, and retain what changed.

  1. Confirm the replacement fact

    Verify the replacement fact with the responsible team before changing published copy. Record the source, reviewer, and verification time in your internal process; do not publish a hypothesis as a correction.

  2. Locate the exact statement and every channel

    Identify the incorrect or incomplete statement, its publication time, and each place it appeared, such as the status page, email, or in-app message. Scope the correction to the same affected audience unless your own process requires broader notice.

  3. Decide the correction form through your process

    Use your team's review and publication rules to decide whether to amend the existing entry, add a visibly labeled correction, or issue a new update. This guide does not set a universal correction, disclosure, or retention rule.

  4. Make the change visible

    Do not silently replace a material published fact. Where the channel permits, label the correction, show when it was made, and preserve enough context for readers to understand that the prior statement changed.

  5. State the old and replacement facts precisely

    Name the statement being corrected and give the verified replacement in plain language. Explain only the resulting change to customer impact, timing, scope, service state, or required action; omit speculation and unapproved sensitive detail.

  6. Align every channel used

    Correct each channel that carried the changed fact and keep impact, time, scope, service state, and customer instructions consistent. If a channel cannot be edited, publish a new correction through that channel or follow your own approved fallback.

  7. Recheck incident state and next-update commitments

    Confirm that the correction does not leave the displayed incident stage, resolved state, customer action, or next-update time inaccurate. Change only what the verified fact affects and keep any remaining commitments explicit.

  8. Retain the correction and approval record

    Under your own retention process, keep the original publication, corrected text, correction time, channels, verification source, and approver. Route security, privacy, legal, regulatory, contractual, SLA, and notification questions to the required reviewers.

Draft from verified facts.

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