Quotes and attribution

Readers need to know where every important fact comes from. That is attribution.

## Say who said it
Any claim that you did not see yourself, and that is not an established fact, needs a source in the sentence: "the police said", "according to the budget document", "a hospital official told Rational Times".

## "Said" is enough
Use "said". Words like "claimed", "admitted", "revealed" or "slammed" carry a judgment. "Claimed" suggests the person may be lying; "admitted" suggests guilt. Use them only when they are exactly true.

## Direct and indirect quotes
- A direct quote, in quotation marks, must be the person's exact words. You may cut words you do not need — but never in a way that changes the meaning.
- An indirect quote gives the meaning in your words, without quotation marks, still attributed.
- Translate faithfully. If someone spoke in Hindi or another language, the English quote must say what they meant — and you can mention the language.

## Unnamed sources
Use them rarely: only when the information matters, the person would face real harm if named, and your editor knows who they are. Tell readers why the source could not be named and how they know ("an official who was in the meeting").

## The other side
If your story criticises someone, ask them for their response before you publish, give them reasonable time, and include what they say — or that they did not reply.