1. Our purpose
The clock looks at whether the American system can limit power, protect rights, run trustworthy elections, keep political competition peaceful, and correct failures through law and democratic processes. It does not track whether a party, belief, policy, or social group is winning.
The same questions and scoring rules must apply no matter which leader, party, or institution benefits.
2. Evidence standards
Reviews start with original legal and historical documents, official records, court decisions, laws, government investigations, reliable data, and trusted scholarship. Partisan claims, advocacy, news reports, and commentary may raise useful questions, but they should not stand alone when stronger evidence exists.
- Show the dates covered and the publication date.
- Separate what a source says from how the review reads it.
- Include important evidence that points the other way.
- Link sources so readers can check the claim.
- Be clear when evidence is incomplete, disputed, or uncertain.
- Do not treat policy disagreement alone as constitutional decline.
Scoring rules
Each of the eight measures uses a published guide and weight. The overall score is calculated from those eight scores. Facts and scores receive separate confidence ratings because a well-documented event can still be difficult to turn into an exact number.
Clear, measured language
Headlines and summaries should match the evidence without exaggeration. Normal political conflict will not be used as clickbait, the clock will not be presented as a countdown, and a risk level will not be called a probability unless a tested probability model exists.
3. Review, AI, and independence
AI tools may help organize research, draft text, write code, and check consistency. AI output is not evidence. Every citation must lead to an identifiable source, and the publisher remains responsible for what appears here. Each assessment should say whether an independent person reviewed it.
Changes to the method must be dated and recorded. Serious disagreements should be published when a formal review group exists. Sponsors, advertisers, donors, and political groups may not approve, block, delay, or negotiate scores.
Corrections
Factual errors, incorrect source credits, important omissions, and calculation mistakes should be fixed promptly under the Corrections and Revisions Policy. A reasonable disagreement about interpretation will be reviewed, but it is not automatically an error.
4. Raise a concern
Identify the page, disputed statement or score, proposed correction, and supporting source. Contact us through Arklyte.io.