truthsthat

Truthsthat is a term used in information philosophy and knowledge management to describe a framework for cataloging propositions that are true under specified conditions. It treats truth as contextual, contingent on methods of verification and the available evidence, rather than as an absolute property.

Origin and scope: The concept emerged in collaborative research initiatives in the 2020s within open science and fact-checking communities. It is used as a meta-level tool to organize claims across disciplines, data sources, and time.

Structure and process: A truthsthat entry includes the proposition, the contextual conditions (where, when, under what method), the evidential basis (documents, measurements, experiments), the confidence level, sources, and the verdict date. Entries are updated as new evidence becomes available.

Applications: It supports journalism, education, and AI training by making visible the conditional nature of claims, enabling better decision-making and reproducibility. It also informs policy analysis by clarifying which facts hold under which assumptions.

Criticism and limitations: Critics warn that the system may over-fragment knowledge or obscure normative judgments behind qualifiers. Diligent governance, clear criteria, and transparency are proposed to mitigate bias and maintain usefulness.