Reference
Understand reports, events and situations
Learn how a firsthand Witness report relates to an event, a wider situation and the outside context around it.
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What each record represents
- Report
- A firsthand observation submitted in the Witness app, with a place and time and evidence when available.
- Event
- A record of a specific occurrence. Related firsthand reports can support the same event, and its history shows how the record changes.
- Situation
- A wider development that brings related events and signals together. Open the individual records to check their evidence.
- Outside context
- Labelled information such as news, outages or nearby activity, displayed alongside Witness records with its own source and timestamp.
How to read evidence and confidence
Read the evidence behind the claim you are evaluating. A photo can support a visible observation while leaving its cause or duration unresolved. Independent corroboration informs Witness confidence. Outside context keeps its own label and is separate from Witness confidence.
Which time does the record describe?
An event’s occurrence, an observation, and the time information became available can differ. Compare those times when reconstructing a sequence or reviewing what someone knew before making a decision.