Evidence and verbatim quotes

One rule: the words must be in the source

Each fact cites at least one passage of a document with a quote. CanonTracker checks that the quote appears in that passage word for word before the fact can become canon. A verified citation shows Verbatim match; one that fails shows Quote not found in source.

• The check is the same everywhere: AI extraction, Add fact, agents over MCP, research and continuity.
• A fact without verified evidence can't become canon, and Ask answers "unknown" when no canon fact covers a question. CanonTracker never invents a source or a quote.
• Imported documents are never changed. A citation points at one version of a document; see Versions and re-check.

What may differ

Writers retype quotes, and editors change typography, so the check ignores a few things. The citation always stores the source's exact characters, not the ones you typed.

• Curly and straight quote marks.
• Dashes: an em dash, an en dash and -- all match, with or without spaces around them.
• An ellipsis character and three dots.
• Line breaks and runs of spaces.
• Markdown emphasis marks around words, such as *word* or word.

What is refused

• A quote that isn't in the passage, with any other word changed, added or missing.
• A quote that crosses a blank line: it must come from one paragraph.
• A quote shorter than 8 characters, which is too short to back a fact.

Blocked candidates

Sometimes the AI quotes a sentence that isn't in the source. In Review that candidate shows Blocked, and Accept and Edit & accept are turned off. Reject it. If the fact is true, select the real sentence in the source and use Add fact. The AI critic is never asked about blocked candidates, and "Accept all … verified" skips them.