# Understand reports, events and situations

> Learn how a firsthand Witness report relates to an event, a wider situation and the outside context around it.

## 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.

- [How Witness verification works](https://www.thewitnessapp.com/trust)

## 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.

- [Investigate an event using Evidence and History](https://www.thewitnessapp.com/terminal/docs/investigate-event)

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Web page: https://www.thewitnessapp.com/terminal/docs/read-the-record
Index for agents: https://www.thewitnessapp.com/llms.txt