Editorial Policy

AI Disclosure

croton.news uses artificial intelligence in every stage of its editorial process. We believe full transparency about this is essential.

Transcription: Meeting audio is transcribed by Deepgram Nova 3, an AI speech recognition system. Transcripts include automated speaker identification (diarization). Transcription errors may occur, particularly with proper nouns, technical terms, and cross-talk.

Article drafting: Articles are drafted by AI language models. The primary model is currently Zhipu GLM-5.2, with some earlier articles drafted by Anthropic Claude. The AI receives the full meeting transcript and supplementary public records as input. Each article identifies the model used in its metadata.

Automated fact-checking: Every article passes through an AI editor agent that independently queries the source database to verify each factual claim, including dollar amounts, vote tallies, speaker attributions, and proper nouns. The editor agent can correct errors, flag unverified claims, or reject articles entirely. Articles that fail automated review are not published. A human editor reviews flagged articles and spot-checks published content.

What AI does not do: AI does not conduct interviews or make editorial judgments about newsworthiness. The decision of what to cover and how to frame investigative features is made by human editors. Meeting coverage is generated automatically from public records.

Sources

All croton.news content is derived from public records, including:

Official meeting videos published by the Village of Croton-on-Hudson
Meeting minutes and agendas posted on the village website
Municipal code (via ecode360.com)
County, state, and federal public records
Published news reports from other outlets (cited when used)

We do not use anonymous sources. Every factual claim should be traceable to a public record or an on-the-record statement made at a public meeting.

Quote Verification

Direct quotes in our articles are drawn from meeting transcripts. Each quote includes a timestamp link that allows readers to:

Read the quote in the full transcript context
Watch the original video at the exact moment the statement was made

If a quote appears inaccurate, it may reflect a transcription error. We correct these promptly when identified. Please contact us with the article URL and timestamp.

Corrections Policy

Factual errors: We correct factual errors as soon as they are identified. Corrections are noted at the bottom of the article with the date and nature of the correction.

Transcription errors: If a quote is inaccurate due to AI transcription, we update the quote to match what was actually said on video. Minor transcription corrections are made silently; substantive corrections that change meaning are noted.

Clarifications: If an article is accurate but misleading due to missing context, we add a clarification noting the additional context.

How to request a correction: Email editor@croton.news with the article URL, the specific error, and the correct information with source.

Independence

croton.news is independently operated. We have no financial relationship with the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, any political candidate or party, or any business or developer mentioned in our coverage. We do not accept payment for coverage or favorable treatment.

Comments

Article comments are moderated. We publish comments that add information, context, or constructive criticism. We do not publish comments that are abusive, defamatory, or off-topic.

Corrections Log

We believe accountability requires maintaining a public record of our errors. Articles that have not yet been verified display a warning notice. This is an ongoing process.

Date	Article	Correction
August 6, 2026	Article 151	Headline dropped the leading digit of the sidewalk grant figure; article body and meeting record say $353,744. Caught during video production cross-check 2026-08-06.
July 15, 2026	Multiple articles	An external verification sweep — cross-checking every recurring name against the Croton Chronicle, official village and school district pages, and professional listings — found and corrected: Village Manager Bryan Healy misspelled “Brian” in two articles; Fire Chief Phil Dinkler misnamed “Paul”; village auditor Alan Kassay of PKF O’Connor Davies misspelled “Kasay” / “PFK”; and one remaining “Ed Riley” in a meeting summary. All corrections were also applied to the underlying transcripts and added to the enforcement registry.
July 15, 2026	Multiple articles	A review found that automated rewrites had reintroduced seven previously corrected errors (including a fabricated name and two misspellings) because the rewriting system had no knowledge of this corrections log. All seven were re-corrected the same day, and the publishing system now checks every article against a registry of past corrections — a corrected error can no longer return.
July 15, 2026	Multiple articles	The July 14 correction to the rental registry article changed resident Ed Riely’s name in the wrong direction (to “Riley,” the automated-transcription spelling). Official Board of Trustees minutes consistently spell his name Ed Riely, and that spelling is now applied across all seven affected articles, transcript speaker labels, and our people index. A street-name typo (“Trousdale” for Truesdale Drive) was also corrected in two articles.
July 14, 2026	Croton Board Advances Animal Law Overhaul, Approves Student Committee Members Amid Con Edison Backlash	An earlier version misidentified the Village Attorney as Joshua Subin. The Village Attorney at the July 1 meeting was Lori Lee Dickson, who assumed the role June 24, 2026 (Mr. Subin held it through June 23). The article was rewritten and re-verified; the transcript speaker labels were corrected at the source.
July 14, 2026	Croton adopts rental registry law, approves $429K in vouchers	Removed a house number that did not appear in any source record. This entry also changed the spelling of resident Ed Riely’s name to “Riley” — that change was itself incorrect and was reversed on July 15 (see above).
April 29, 2026	Five Candidates Debate EdTech, Phones, and AI at Packed Board of Education Forum	Corrected attendance from “over 300” to approximately 100 (venue capacity). Changed headline from “Candidates Clash” to “Five Candidates Debate” to reflect the cordial tone. Corrected moderator name from “Dani Zelliger” to Dan Zeliger (amended July 15, 2026: official minutes spell it Dan, not Danny as this note previously read). Revised language that overstated conflict between candidates. Replaced fabricated superintendent name “Dr. Bauer O’Shaughnessy” with Superintendent Stephen Walker. Corrected “CET (Croton Elementary School)” to Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School (CET). Fixed Bhatnagar bio from “nearly 30 years” to twenty years per official CHUFSD bio; clarified her role as Dav Pilkey’s editor rather than “developer” of Captain Underpants.
April 29, 2026	Zoning Board Approves Two Home Addition Variances	Corrected headline from “Three Home Additions” to “Two” — 59 Sunset Drive was deferred, not approved. Replaced unresolved speaker tag with ZBA Chair James Tuman.
April 22, 2026	Cannabis Dispensary Plan for South Riverside Sparks Debate	Incorrectly stated the Planning Board did not vote on the application. The Board voted unanimously to approve the change of use with conditions.
April 22, 2026	Croton Adopts Budget, Hears Pushback on Backyard Chicken Rules	Omitted three substantive votes: water tank assessment authorization, 2026 legislative priorities resolution, and Van Cortlandt Manor entrance change orders. All passed.
April 22, 2026	Croton DPW Boss Urges Board to Let Bigger Cities Test New Tech First	Executive brief incorrectly stated "No formal votes taken." The Board voted to approve committee appointments to the Conservation Advisory Council, Police Advisory Committee, and Advisory Board on the Visual Environment.
April 22, 2026	Croton Trustees Waive Snow Tickets, Renew Optimum Franchise	Fabricated name: "Village Manager Janine King" corrected to Bryan Healy. Also corrected "Ed Riley" to Ed Riely per official minutes.
April 22, 2026	Student-Led "Leaders of Tomorrow" Mentorship Program	Corrected "Sophia Massiti" to Sophia Misiti. Several student names could not be verified against official minutes and may contain errors.
April 22, 2026	Multiple articles (#6, #8, #27)	Name misspellings corrected per official minutes: Casey Rascob→Raskob (#6), John Giegen→Ghegan (#8), Ed Riley→Riely (#27).
April 8, 2026	The Developer Who Keeps Coming Back: Andrew Cortese's Latest Fight	Misspelled Reuben Daly's name as "Ruben Dahlia." Incorrectly attributed the organization of the 45-signature petition to Deborah Schupack; it was organized by Claire Hilbert.
April 8, 2026	'What Is the Hardship Other Than Profit?': Mount Airy Neighbors Draw a Line	Same name and attribution errors as article 56 (both articles covered the same hearing).