What moves a claim between buckets
Two claims about the same historical error begin side by side,
both merely widely repeated. One is checked against the printed source and
moves to established. The other is examined, cannot be settled by the
source, and stays contested.
Two claims about the same error
Both widely repeated. Repetition is not corroboration.
ESTABLISHED
Someone accountable looked at the source.
CONTESTED
Copied forward with no independent check.
UNSOURCED
No weight yet. Not the same as false.
Operation 4 has its divisor
and dividend the wrong way round.
widely repeated
The slip was the compositor's,
introduced when the type was set.
widely repeated
Compared against the printed diagram.
The check that was available got done.
Who introduced it?
No check is available from the page.
Neither claim moved because it was repeated. One moved because it was checked.