--- name: atlas-content title: Content and editorial quality description: How to write, source, illustrate and publish content in the Atlas of Today's World encyclopedia — regions, global issues, countries, topics with subtopics, news, timelines, FAQ, key-fact cards, site pages and UI texts. Use when drafting or editing any text in the admin, checking a draft before approval, citing sources, adding photos or credits, choosing a title or URL, scheduling a publication or fixing an error. roles: [editor, admin-user] --- # Content and editorial quality The Atlas is an English encyclopedia of the present. Readers trust it because every claim can be checked. **Answer first, stay neutral, cite everything a reader could doubt.** This skill is for editors working in the [administration](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin) and for AI agents drafting text for them. ## Before you start - Working in the admin screens (forms, lists, permissions): `atlas-admin`. - Search titles, descriptions, keywords: `atlas-seo`. The "In short" block and AI answer engines: `atlas-geo`. - Charts, maps, data layers and their sources: `atlas-maps-data`. - Field limits, source hierarchy and credit formats in full: [reference](reference.md). ## The content model (what you can write, and where) | Content | Public URL | Edit in the admin | |---|---|---| | Region portrait (9 regions) | `/region/` | [Regions & countries](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/regions) | | Global issue, or custom region (a group of countries) | `/global-issue/` | [Global issues](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/global-issues) | | Country profile and facts | `/country/` | [Regions & countries](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/regions) → the country | | Topic (encyclopedia dossier) with subtopics | `/topics/` | [Topics & news](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/content) (kind "Topic") | | News article | `/news/` | [Topics & news](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/content) (kind "News article") | | Author profile (bio, positionality statement) | `/authors/` | [Author profiles](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/authors) | | Site pages: about, privacy, terms, accessibility | `/about` … | [Site pages](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/pages) | | UI texts (buttons, headings, labels) | everywhere | [UI texts](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/site/texts) | | Home page pinned subtopics | `/` | [Home page](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/home) | - **Topic** (`entries.kind = "entry"`): title, summary, up to 5 summary bullets, category, region or global issue, countries, header photo with credit, author, body. The editor has tabs (`?tab=`): Article, Subtopics (max 12, `MAX_CHAPTERS`), Timeline, Maps & charts, Learn more (max 24 tiles, 200 links), SEO & GEO (with the FAQ, max 20 questions). - **Subtopic** (`entry_chapters`): title, up to 5 summary bullets, body, illustration with credit, optional audio. It gets the anchor `#topic-N` on the topic page. - **Portrait sections** of a region or global issue: intro, key-fact cards (`portrait_metrics`), resources, FAQ, timeline, Maps & charts. Up to 50 items per list. - **Key-fact card**: big value ("24.4 %"), label, one explaining sentence, **source (required)**, source link, year or period. A card without a source cannot be saved. - **Timeline**: max 60 events, each with a date, rich text and up to 20 sources (https links). - **Categories** (`NEWS_CATEGORIES`): Living Conditions, Political System, Society, International Relations, Historical Roots. They group into four portrait groups. - **Content status** of a region or global issue: not started (grey on the globe, asks for support), in preparation (hourglass), ready (check mark). Keep it honest — readers fund regions based on it. - **"Planned topic only"** (status `planned`) shows a grey "Coming soon" tile on the portrait. It is not a scheduled publication (see below). The admin list currently labels it "Scheduled". ## Rules ### Voice and style - Write in English, British spelling (the site uses "organisation", "labour", "programme"). - Answer first. The first sentence of a summary defines the subject; the first two paragraphs carry the key facts. A reader who stops there must still be informed. - Write summary bullets as 3–5 standalone claims, each ≤ 300 characters, each backed in the text below. - Keep sentences ≤ 25 words and paragraphs ≤ 5 sentences. Use active voice. - Spell out every acronym and explain every specialist term on first use ("the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)"). - Start headings with their most informative words. Use H2 for sections, H3 below; never skip a level. - Use lists only for real lists or steps. Bold a few key phrases, never whole sentences. - Write numbers with their unit and year: "about 6.9 million refugees (UNHCR, mid-2025)". - Dates in full and unambiguous: "24 February 2022". Never "recently", "this year", "last month". ### Neutral point of view - Represent each significant view in proportion to its weight in reliable sources. Say who holds it and whether it is the majority or a minority view. - Attribute contested framings: "The Russian government describes the war as a 'special military operation'." Never adopt a party's label as the Atlas's own voice. - Avoid loaded words (regime, terrorist, martyr, so-called) unless you quote and attribute them. - No original synthesis: do not combine two sources into a conclusion neither of them states. - Label analysis and opinion as such. News reports facts; topics explain context. - Disputed borders and names follow the Atlas's UN-based territory policy (`atlas-maps-data`). Use one name per place across the site; give the alternative name once, attributed. - Living people: contentious claims need strong sources, allegations are worded as allegations with the denial, birth date only if widely published, no private contact data. ### Sourcing and citations - Cite every figure, quote and contested claim with a link a reader can open. In rich text, link the source in the sentence or add a numbered note. - Prefer primary data sources for numbers (UN agencies, World Bank, national statistics offices, V-Dem, UNHCR) and reputable secondary sources (scholarly work, major news agencies) for interpretation. Use government statements for what the government says, not as fact. - Do not cite social media, anonymous blogs or AI chatbots. Do not cite Wikipedia — cite what it cites. - Every number carries its "as of" date: the year of the data, not the year you looked it up. Mark estimates and projections. - Key-fact cards, manual indicator values and timeline events must name their source; the database refuses them otherwise. Do not fill the source field with "various" or "own research". - Drafting with AI: check every fact and every link yourself before saving. Never publish an AI-suggested citation you have not opened. ### Corrections (suggested policy — owner to confirm) - A **correction** fixes a wrong fact; an **update** reflects a changed situation; a **clarification** fixes ambiguous wording. Never silently fix a factual error in a published text. - For a correction, add a dated line at the end of the article body: "Correction (16 October 2026): An earlier version said X. It is Y." Updates can use "Update (date): …". - Fix it as soon as it is confirmed. The revision history keeps the old version. - The site has no public corrections log or report form yet; proposing one is an owner decision. ### Images - Use only images you may republish: your own, public domain, Creative Commons (not ND if you crop), or Unsplash. Check the licence on the file page, not on a search result. - Fill the credit field every time (header photo, subtopic illustration, tile photo, region and issue hero). Credit the **author**, then the source and licence: "Jane Doe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)". Unsplash needs no credit by law; give "Name / Unsplash" anyway. - Upload JPEG, PNG, WebP or AVIF up to 3 MB (no SVG). Audio up to 50 MB. - Hero images use the page title as their alt text. This is an owner decision — keep it; do not add a separate alt field or change those texts. - In "Maps & charts", an image's **title** is its alt text and the heading under it: describe what the image shows and why it matters, not "Photo of…". - Images inside rich text need an alt attribute that says what the image adds. - No identifiable private individuals in distress without consent; personality rights apply on top of the licence. ### Titles and URLs (slugs) - Titles: plain, specific, answer-first ("Why the Sahel's juntas left ECOWAS"), ≤ 200 characters; keep them short enough to read in one glance. The search title is set separately (`atlas-seo`). - Slugs: lowercase words and hyphens, no dates, no stop-word padding. Decide before publishing. - A **published** article keeps its URL: the slug field locks. To move it anyway, ask a developer. - Renaming an **author** URL leaves a permanent redirect automatically. - Renaming a **global issue or custom region** does not: add the redirect yourself in [URL redirects](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/redirects) (old path → new path). The database refuses loops. ### Publishing, scheduling and revisions - Workflow: draft → submit for approval (pending) → approve and publish. An approver can send it back with a note. Anyone in the admin team may edit any content; do not add extra sign-off steps. - **Scheduled publication**: approve with a time instead of now (5 minutes to 1 year ahead). The database publishes it within 5 minutes of that time and the site shows it within an hour. If someone other than the scheduler edits the article meanwhile, the schedule is cancelled. - Share an unpublished draft with a preview link (24 h, 3 days, 7 days or 30 days). - Each save to the database is a revision; compare versions before approving. Autosave only keeps a backup in your browser — save before you close the tab. - Site pages have their own revisions with restore, and a "Last updated" date: set it whenever the page meaningfully changes. - Re-read fast-moving topics at least every 3 months; update figures and the "as of" dates. ### UI texts and site pages - UI text overrides keep the `{placeholders}` of the original exactly (same names); the form refuses others. Max 2,000 characters. Sign-in, account and invitation texts are locked; menu labels are edited in [Site menus](https://atlas-of-todays-world.vercel.app/admin/site/navigation). - Site page bodies may use `{{contact}}`, `{{email}}` and, on About, `{{data-sources}}` (the live list of data sources). ## How it connects to SEO and GEO The SEO & GEO tab of a topic holds the search title (≤ 70), description (≤ 170), keywords (≤ 12), share image (1200×630), "In short" summary (≤ 800, shown on the page) and noindex. Empty fields fall back to the title and summary. Writing rules for them: `atlas-seo` and `atlas-geo`. ## Checklist before you submit or approve - [ ] Summary answers the main question in its first sentence; 3–5 bullets, each backed in the text. - [ ] Every figure has a source link and an "as of" year; estimates are marked. - [ ] Contested claims attributed; no loaded labels in the Atlas's own voice. - [ ] Acronyms spelled out on first use; sentences ≤ 25 words. - [ ] Every image has a licence you checked and a credit; chart and image titles describe them. - [ ] Key-fact cards and timeline events have sources; content status of the portrait is accurate. - [ ] Slug final before first publication; a renamed global issue has a redirect. - [ ] SEO & GEO tab filled or deliberately left to defaults (`atlas-seo`, `atlas-geo`). - [ ] Revision diff checked before approving. ## Anti-patterns - "Experts say…" with no named expert or source — unverifiable. - Pasting a figure without its year — it silently becomes wrong. - Fixing a factual error without a correction note — readers who quoted us cannot see why. - Using an image found on a search engine — licence unknown, credit impossible. - Writing "Photo of a protest" as an image title — says nothing a screen reader user needs. - Changing a published slug or a global issue slug without a redirect — breaks every link out there. - Copying text from a source — paraphrase and cite; quote at most a short sentence, attributed. ## Sources - Wikipedia: Core content policies — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Core_content_policies - Wikipedia: Reliable sources — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources - Wikipedia: Biographies of living persons — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons - BBC Editorial Guidelines: Accuracy — https://www.bbc.com/editorialguidelines/guidelines/accuracy - The Trust Project: Trust Indicators — https://thetrustproject.org/trust-indicators/ - GOV.UK: Writing clearly — https://guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/writing-guidelines/clear-language/ - NN/g: F-shaped reading pattern — https://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped-pattern-reading-web-content/ - Wikimedia Commons: Reusing content — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reusing_content_outside_Wikimedia - Creative Commons: Recommended practices for attribution — https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Recommended_practices_for_attribution - Unsplash License — https://unsplash.com/license - More sources and full field limits: [reference](reference.md)