Editorial Policy

Who operates this site

What to do if... is an independent information website operated by a small editorial team. The site is not a government body, emergency service or medical institution, and it is not affiliated with any of them. Contact details are on the Contact page.

Purpose

We publish straightforward, practical guides on what to do in everyday problems, breakdowns, losses and emergencies. Our goal is to help a reader understand a situation and take safe, sensible first steps, and to point them to the right help or official resource.

How content is researched

Guides are written around a concrete situation and answer a clear question.
We aim to use authoritative, official sources (government agencies, national health authorities, emergency services, established professional organizations).
Where a situation is sensitive — health, emergencies, legal, financial — we prioritise official and verifiable sources and label the content accordingly.

How sources are selected and kept

We prefer primary, official and authoritative sources over secondary or promotional ones.
Sources are listed on the relevant guide where they support the content.
Official links are reviewed from time to time; if a source moves or is no longer available, we update or remove it.

How content is reviewed

Every article is reviewed before publication. Sensitive content — health, medical, emergency, legal or financial — is flagged, requires additional editorial approval, and is subject to stricter review before it can be published. We record review status (fact-checked, source-checked, medical reviewed, editor approved) internally wherever possible.

AI-assisted content and human review

Some drafting may be assisted by AI tools. AI is never a substitute for human editorial review.
AI-assisted drafts are treated as drafts: they are not published without human review, fact-checking and source verification.
We do not claim that content was written or reviewed by a named person or medical professional unless that is true.
Where a specific author or reviewer is credited, that credit reflects an actual person recorded in our system.

Health, medical and emergency information

Health and first-aid content is general educational information and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
In a life-threatening emergency, call your local emergency services immediately.
Emergency numbers are published from official public sources and may change; confirm them with local authorities before relying on them.
We do not diagnose, do not prescribe, and do not promise outcomes.

Corrections

We correct factual errors promptly. If you spot a mistake, please report it. Once verified, we amend the affected content and, where helpful, note the correction.

Updates

Guides are updated as information changes. When content is time-sensitive, we note when it was last verified. The main date shown reflects the latest revision.

Reporting errors

Use the Contact page to report a factual error, a broken link, an out-of-date emergency number or to ask a question. We read every message.

Advertising and independence

The site may display advertising and, where relevant, affiliate links. Where they appear, they are clearly labelled where required, and advertising decisions are separate from editorial decisions. Our editorial content is not written to sell a product.