This page explains how CMT.blog is written: where the information comes from, how it’s checked and corrected, and how AI tools are and aren’t used. If something here doesn’t match what you see on the site, tell me.
Who Writes Here
CMT.blog is written and edited by me, Dan Knauss, as an independent citizen journalist and rare disease patient advocate. I’m not a clinician or a scientist, and nothing here is medical advice. When I write about my own life, it’s my experience and no one else’s. More about me and the blog is on the About page.
Guest authors and other contributors whose writing is published here will always be identified and adhere to this policy.
Sources and Evidence
- Primary sources first. I cite the document, the scholarly article, the trial registry entry, the tax filing, and an individual’s or organization’s own words, not someone’s summary of them, and I link to them so you can check for yourself.
- Uncertainty stays visible. If the evidence is thin, disputed, based on early trials or animal studies in a pharmaceutical context, the post will say so. A single study is not a finding about everyone with CMT.
- Dates matter. Research and companies move fast, so posts say when something was checked, and older posts get dated update notes when the news moves on.
- Commentary is labelled as mine. Reporting and opinion often overlap. When I’m giving my personal view, I write it in the first person.
Corrections and Right of Reply
When I get something wrong, I fix it in the post and add a dated note saying what changed. If you’re the subject of a post and think it’s unfair or wrong, you can reply. How both work, and a log of every correction, is on Updates and Corrections.
How I Use AI
I use AI tools, including Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s models, as assistants. They help me:
- find sources and check claims against them;
- summarize research papers, which I then check against the paper;
- draft, edit and tighten text, which I review and rewrite as needed;
- do copy editing (fix typos), fact checking and comparative review;
- build and maintain the site’s code and open data, such as the Open CMT Gene Table, whose scripts are public;
- make the simple line drawings for featured images and other illustrations, or to find usable art and photography.
I decide what gets published, and I’m responsible for all of it.
What AI Never Does Here
- It never invents sources, quotes, data or citations. Every citation links to a source humans can access.
- It never invents my experiences or speaks for me about my life or my health.
- It never publishes anything on its own. I review everything before it goes live.
- It never makes realistic images of real people or events. The drawings here are plainly drawings.
- It isn’t used to mass-produce posts for search traffic.
Independence and Conflicts of Interest
I will disclose any gifts, samples, paid travel costs, or anything else received. I will disclose any affiliate links or sponsorships. Sponsors, advertisers, PR agencies, and affiliate partners currently do not exist and are unlikely to exist in the future. If any such relationships emerge, they will grant zero control over what I write, my opinions, ratings and reviews, etc.
CMT.blog does not accept payment, gifts, or favors in exchange for positive reviews, specific coverage, or backlink placement unless it is clearly labeled as sponsored content.
Writers for CMT.blog must disclose if they hold stock, advisory roles, or financial stakes in any company, product, or service they write about.
Health Information
Nothing on CMT.blog is medical advice. It’s written to help you understand the research and ask better questions. Decisions about your care belong with you and a clinician who knows your case.
Models for This Policy
This policy borrows from the Trust Project’s trust indicators for news sites, the Associated Press’s standards on generative AI, and Google’s guidance on showing who made content, how and why.