RISE & RUINHow we make a file you can trust
Rise & Ruin tells true stories about real companies and real people. That only works if the facts hold up. Here is how every Empire File is made and checked.
Our process
Research
Each story starts from published sources: court records, company filings and press releases, government reports, major news outlets, museums and encyclopedias.
Script
The script is written in house. Every number, date, name and quote in it is tied to a source before it moves on.
Independent fact-check
A separate check reviews the script claim by claim. Anything that cannot be traced to a reliable source is cut, and anything with only one source is attributed to it on screen.
Sources published
The sources behind every file are listed in the YouTube description and on the episode page on this site, so you can check our work.
The rules we follow
- Primary sources first. Court records, official filings and company statements come before news reports. News reports come before trade blogs. We do not use anonymous wikis or forums as sources.
- No stronger than the source. If a source says "about", we say "about". If only one person said it, we say who.
- Fair to living people. We only say someone committed a crime if a court convicted them, and we say so plainly. We note acquittals, settlements and appeals where they exist.
- Myths get named. When a popular version of a story is wrong, we say what is actually known.
- Images are honest. Photos are licensed or public domain. Drawn documents and diagrams are marked "illustration". We never imitate a real company's logo or documents.
AI narration
The voice you hear is AI-generated. It reads our own original script and does not imitate any real person. The research, writing, editing, graphics and animation are done by Rise & Ruin. We say this in every video description.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we want to know. Tell us what the error is and, if you can, the source that shows it. We review every report. When a correction is needed, we fix the episode page and the YouTube description, pin a correction comment on the video, and note what changed and when.
Report an error in the comments on the video, or through any of our channels on the follow page.
Independence
Rise & Ruin is independent. No company we cover has paid for, reviewed or approved a file. If we ever work with a sponsor, it will be clearly labelled and kept separate from the story.