AI driven, human validated, and independent

What AI does and what people do

AI helps us keep up with hundreds of hours of meetings. It reads transcripts and agenda packets, finds the motions and votes, and writes a first draft. AI models from different companies check each other.

People decide what gets published. Before a story runs, a person checks every claim against the public record it cites and signs off. That person is named on the story next to the Validated badge.

It will not be perfect. AI makes mistakes, and so do people. We would rather tell you that up front and fix errors quickly than pretend they cannot happen.

Our rules

• Every fact links to a public record you can open yourself, such as meeting video at the exact minute, an agenda packet, or a released document.
• Quotes are word for word from the record.
• We report votes and their effect on taxpayers. We do not guess at anyone's motives.
• We do not publish claims we cannot trace to a public record.
• We protect the people who bring us information. We never name a confidential source.
• When we rate officials, we will publish the method first, link every scored vote, and give officials a chance to respond.

Where our information comes from

• City of Lago Vista meeting video archive
• City agendas, packets, and minutes
• Public information requests under the Texas Public Information Act, with the released records posted alongside the story

Corrections

If we got something wrong, tell us. Include the story, the sentence, and a link to the record that shows the error. We review every request, correct the story, and note what changed and when.

Email corrections@lagovistawatchdog.com.

Independence

We are not part of the City of Lago Vista, and the city does not review our stories before they run.