Editorial standard

Victim-first. Source-visible. No manufactured certainty.

LAST KNOWN deals with real victims, families, witnesses, investigators, and living private people. Investigative usefulness never overrides factual discipline, privacy, or basic human dignity.

We separate kinds of information

Confirmed facts, official statements, credible reporting, witness accounts, allegations, disputed information, unverified claims, corrections, disproven claims, and community theories are not interchangeable. The interface preserves the distinction supplied by the canonical record.

We do not determine guilt

LAST KNOWN is not a tribunal and its research tools are not designed to name suspects. Publication must not imply criminal responsibility that has not been established by a competent authority or reliable public record.

We minimize harm

Private addresses, unnecessary identifying details, information about minors, graphic material, and unsupported accusations require heightened review. Material can be withheld when publication creates disproportionate privacy or safety risk with little investigative value.

We do not crowdsource contact

Users may examine records; they may not use LAST KNOWN to organize harassment, doxxing, surveillance, confrontation, impersonation, vigilantism, or contact campaigns toward private people. Actionable case information belongs with the verified official authority.

We preserve the record of change

Published corrections and revisions are part of the archive’s trust record. A material correction remains visible and attributable to a publication revision rather than silently replacing prior wording.