Our citation standard

The single principle

Every assertion of fact in a Black Box Notes piece is either (a) traceable to a cited primary document, (b) supported by a named on-the-record source, (c) supported by the contributor's own documented verification, or (d) flagged in the text as the publication's judgment rather than a sourced fact. Assertions that fit none of the four do not run.

Citation format

We use inline citations, not footnotes. The cited phrase is linked to the cited document. Where the link is to a long document we link to the specific section (anchor link, page number in the URL fragment, or PDF page reference).

For piece-level citations (the citation block on each article and the copy-to-clipboard button) we use a short standard format:

{Author} ({Year}). "{Title}." Black Box Notes. {URL}.

For citations inside pieces we use one of three patterns by source type, as follows.

By source type

Primary regulatory documents

Cited by the issuing body, the document's official title, the document's date or version, and a link to the official copy. Where the document has a registry identifier (Celex number for EU instruments, Federal Register citation for U.S. documents, ICAO code for international instruments) we include the identifier.

European Commission. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/[TKTK], of [TKTK]. Celex 32026R[TKTK]. [link].

Published research papers

Cited by author surnames, year of publication, paper title, venue (conference, journal, or preprint server), and a link to the canonical version of record. Where the paper has a DOI, we include the DOI. Where the paper is a preprint, we say so; we do not cite preprints as if they were published.

Vogel et al. (2025). "On the auditability of agentic orchestration layers." Journal of Systems Audit Research, 12(3), pp. 88–117. DOI [TKTK].

Working drafts and white papers

Cited by the publishing organisation, title, draft version, and date of retrieval — plus a note that the document is a draft and may be revised. We retain a local copy of the version we cite so the citation does not depend on the publisher leaving the draft in place.

Filings and disclosures

Cited by the filing party, the regulator or registry where the filing lives, the filing date, and the URL. Where the filing has multiple amendments, we cite the specific amendment.

On-the-record interviews

First reference: full name, current title, and the date of the conversation. Subsequent reference: surname only. Where the source's title is consequential to their access we repeat the title.

Pat Walker, chief auditability officer at [TKTK: organisation], in conversation with the publication, 14 May 2026.

Pseudonymous sources

We cite under a pseudonym only when (a) the source is named to the editorial team but cannot be named in print for a reason the publication can describe, and (b) the substantive claim the source supports is independently corroborated. The byline block carries the publication's standard pseudonymity note.

Tool output, model output, and automated transcripts

Cited explicitly as such. We do not present the output of a tool we ran as if it were a primary document.

Linking rules

• Link the specific phrase the cited document supports, not the entire sentence.
• Link to the primary document, not its summary.
• Where the document has a stable archival copy (Internet Archive, official registry, journal of record), prefer that copy.
• Do not link to a social-network post as a source of a fact. If the post documents the fact, link to the archival capture of it.
• Do not link to another publication in Lumenwhite Media Holdings' portfolio. We are independent of them, and the link policy reflects that independence.
• Do not link to vendor marketing pages for products under critical discussion. Link to the technical documentation, the academic write-up, or the filing.

What does not warrant a citation

• The publication's own standing positions, defined in About and Editorial Guidelines.
• Technical definitions established in a Cornerstone piece in this archive; the Cornerstone piece itself is cited on first reference.
• The publisher's standing disclosure paragraph, which is verbatim in the footer of every page.
• Reader-relations content — pitch addresses, response windows, contact channels.

The "could not verify" formula

Where the publication needed a specific and could not obtain a primary source, the text uses the formula "the publication could not verify" followed by a description of what we tried. We prefer the formula to a guess. We prefer the formula to silence on the question. The formula is not a confession of weakness; it is a citation of the boundary of our reporting.

Errata in citations

Citation errors are corrections. A broken link is not a citation error; a wrong link is. A misattributed quote is a citation error. A document cited at the wrong version is a citation error. All three trigger an entry in the Corrections log.

Why this matters

Citation discipline is the difference between an analytical publication and a commentary feed. The publication's beat is opacity; readers come to us, in part, for the citations they can chase. If our citations are unreliable, we are part of the problem we describe.

Changelog

• 2026-05-22. Initial publication.