Bringing History To Life combines historical articles with photo restoration, colourisation and creative uses of AI. These editorial standards explain the approach to sources, uncertainty, images and corrections.
Sources and historical claims
Articles aim to use reliable scholarship, archives, museums and other relevant historical sources. Links appear naturally in the text, with source information where it helps readers follow the evidence. An attractive image, a widely repeated story or an AI answer is not sufficient evidence on its own.
Where dates, identifications or interpretations are disputed, the aim is to say so. A contemporary account can contain errors or propaganda, and a later account may preserve a valuable tradition without proving every detail. Estimates should be identified as estimates.
How AI is used
AI tools assist with research, drafting, editing, image restoration, colourisation, design and video creation. Some articles are substantially AI-drafted. AI output can contain errors, so it should not replace checking the cited evidence. Readers should not assume that a byline signals specialist academic credentials or that every older article has received the same level of review.
Original images, restorations and recreations
Historical images should include a source and appropriate rights information. Public domain and Creative Commons images are used according to their stated terms. A later painting or manuscript scene should be identified as a later representation rather than an eyewitness record.
Restoration, colourisation, new poses and AI-generated movement involve interpretation. Added colours, details or motion may not be historically verifiable. These creative versions should not be treated as untouched documentary photographs.
Difficult subjects
Articles about war, persecution and oppressive regimes are written for historical education. Explaining a person’s influence or methods does not endorse their actions or beliefs. The suffering of victims should remain part of the account.
Corrections and feedback
If you spot an error, contact Matt with the page link, the passage in question and, where possible, a reliable source explaining the correction. Factual errors should be corrected when identified; significant revisions should be explained on the affected page.