Help
New to The Daily Fuckup? Start here. TDF presents news differently from a traditional news site. You do not need to read everything and you do not need to understand every feature before using it.
The basic idea is simple: find out what happened, what changed, why it matters, how confident we are in the facts, and where the evidence comes from.
The fastest way to use TDF
- Catch me up if you have been away.
- Top stories shows what matters now.
- Importance and Confidence help you decide what deserves your attention.
- Open the story when you want the complete explanation.
- Proof lets you examine the supporting evidence yourself.
That is enough to start using TDF. Everything else is there when you want it.
Catch me up
If you have not checked the news for a few hours or a few days, Catch me up is usually the best place to begin.
It groups meaningful developments by story so you can see what actually changed instead of digging through a pile of duplicate headlines.
Top stories
Top stories is TDF's main news view. It is designed to put useful current reporting in front of you rather than simply dumping every article into one chronological list.
Topics
Big stories develop over days, weeks, months, and sometimes years. Topics keeps related reporting together so you can follow an issue without starting over every time something changes.
Latest
Latest is the chronological view. Use it when you simply want to know what TDF published most recently.
Importance
Importance is a quick indication of how consequential a story currently appears to be.
Higher Importance means the event appears to have greater significance or consequences. Lower Importance does not mean the story is false. It means its overall impact currently appears more limited.
Confidence
Confidence tells you how firmly the available evidence supports the current report.
Higher Confidence means the relevant facts are more firmly established. Lower Confidence means important details may still be incomplete, disputed, developing, or difficult to verify.
Importance and Confidence are different things. A major breaking story can have lower Confidence while facts are still coming in. A completely verified story can have high Confidence but relatively limited Importance.
Developing
A Developing story is still changing. Some facts may already be established while other details remain uncertain.
New documents may appear, officials may disagree, and early information may need clarification or correction.
Developing does not mean "we know nothing." It means you should expect the report to change as the evidence changes.
Proof
Proof lets you look behind the reporting instead of simply being asked to trust TDF.
Supporting material can include court documents, government records, official statements, transcripts, data, primary sources, and other evidence relevant to the report.
Truth first. Proof attached.
Scorecard
The Scorecard gives you a broader look at measurements, patterns, and comparisons TDF tracks.
Scores are shortcuts. They are not replacements for the underlying reporting and evidence.
Claims desk
Politicians, government agencies, companies, advocates, commentators, and news organizations make factual claims constantly.
The Claims desk isolates important checkable claims and examines what the available evidence actually supports.
Search
Use Search when you want a person, policy, court case, claim, subject, or previous report instead of whatever happens to be newest.
Weekly roundup
The Weekly roundup is for readers who do not want to follow the site constantly but still want a broader look at the week's important developments.
Archive
The Archive is TDF's historical record. Use it when you want older reporting rather than only today's news.
Since your last visit
Since your last visit is designed to show meaningful developments that happened while you were away.
The point is to show you what changed, not force you to reread everything.
Continue reading
Continue reading helps you return to stories you already started instead of making you hunt for them again.
Important ongoing stories
These are stories that remain active and important. They may not be the newest item on the site, but the underlying event is continuing and has received meaningful updates.
Why did a story change after I read it?
Because the news changed.
New facts can appear. Something uncertain can become confirmed. Better evidence can change what can responsibly be said. Earlier information can require clarification or correction.
When the facts change, the story should change too.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account?
No. You can read TDF without creating an account. Some additional reader features may use an account.
Do I have to pay?
No. TDF's news can be read without purchasing access. Readers who want to support the publication can choose to donate.
Donations do not buy coverage, favorable treatment, access, or editorial influence.
Is TDF left-wing?
TDF is openly left-leaning.
That does not remove the obligation to support factual claims with evidence, identify uncertainty, distinguish fact from opinion, and correct mistakes.
Why don't you just tell me who is right?
Sometimes the evidence makes that clear. Sometimes it does not.
When something has been established, TDF should say so. When the evidence is incomplete, disputed, or genuinely uncertain, TDF should say that too.
Why are some stories short?
Because sometimes a short explanation is all you need. If something can be explained accurately without padding it into 1,500 words, there is no reason to make you fight through it.
Why are some stories longer?
Some subjects really are complicated. History, court proceedings, documents, conflicting evidence, and continuing developments sometimes require more explanation.
Why don't I see twenty stories about the same event?
Because you probably do not need twenty nearly identical stories about the same event.
When practical, TDF keeps meaningful developments connected to the underlying story so you can see how it changed.
What if TDF gets something wrong?
Tell us.
Give TDF the story, the statement you believe is wrong, and whatever evidence supports the correction.
Correcting something is better than knowingly leaving incorrect information online.
Can I trust TDF?
Do not trust TDF merely because TDF tells you to.
Check the sources. Check the proof. Look at what is confirmed. Look at what remains uncertain. Look at the corrections. Then decide for yourself.
Still confused?
Use TDF like this:
- Catch me up — see what you missed.
- Top stories — see what matters now.
- Importance and Confidence — decide what deserves your attention.
- Read the story — get the explanation.
- Proof — inspect the evidence when you want it.
You do not have to read TDF from top to bottom. You do not have to understand every feature. You do not have to turn following the news into another job.
TDF is supposed to make the news easier to understand, not harder.