Bow Tie Kreative Writing System
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Rules / ethics

ETH-005 Hard constraint layer: section

Do not fabricate authority or social proof

IF a credential, citation, endorsement, review, testimonial, user count, or case is unverifiable or synthetic without disclosure, THEN remove or accurately label it ELSE retain.

Why the rule exists

Invented proof exploits trust rather than earning it.

Condition

The rule fires when this evaluates true. Paths marked below must be present in the fact base; the engine reports the rest rather than guessing them.

  • proof.type in [credential, citation, endorsement, review, testimonial, user_count, case]

Facts this rule reads

PathSource
proof.type You supply it

Then

  1. verify — target proof.provenance
  2. remove_or_disclose — target proof

Else

  1. retain — target current_text, No triggering condition is present.

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention
Yes
Primary axes

Sources

  • Advertising and Marketing Basics — U.S. Federal Trade Commission link
    Advertising claims must be truthful, non-deceptive, fair, and appropriately substantiated.
  • Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion — Robert B. Cialdini
    Evidence-based principles of influence and ethical persuasion.
The raw rule record

Verbatim from 18-ethics-and-claims-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/ETH-005.

{
  "id": "ETH-005",
  "name": "Do not fabricate authority or social proof",
  "domain": "ethics",
  "layer": "section",
  "strength": "hard_constraint",
  "human_logic": "IF a credential, citation, endorsement, review, testimonial, user count, or case is unverifiable or synthetic without disclosure, THEN remove or accurately label it ELSE retain.",
  "when": {
    "path": "proof.type",
    "operator": "in",
    "value": [
      "credential",
      "citation",
      "endorsement",
      "review",
      "testimonial",
      "user_count",
      "case"
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "verify",
      "target": "proof.provenance"
    },
    {
      "action": "remove_or_disclose",
      "target": "proof",
      "when": "unverifiable_or_synthetic"
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "Invented proof exploits trust rather than earning it.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "WEB-012",
    "BK-035"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}

Other ethics rules

  1. ETH-001 No known false statement IF a statement is known to be false, THEN correct or remove it ELSE continue to evidence review. Hard constraint
  2. ETH-002 Evaluate express and implied claims IF wording, visuals, omissions, sequence, or context could imply a material claim, THEN evaluate that implication as well as the literal sentence ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  3. ETH-003 Evidence exists before objective claim IF an objective material claim will be published, THEN verify a reasonable evidentiary basis existed before dissemination ELSE block the claim. Hard constraint
  4. ETH-004 Disclose material conditions IF price, outcome, eligibility, risk, timing, endorsement, or availability depends on a material condition, THEN disclose it clearly and near the claim ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  5. ETH-006 Do not exploit vulnerability IF the audience is distressed, grieving, cognitively impaired, financially desperate, a child, or otherwise vulnerable, THEN remove coercive pressure and raise clarity, evidence, consent, and review requirements ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  6. ETH-007 Permission is not pressure IF a reader can legally or practically decline, THEN do not describe refusal as impossible, shameful, disloyal, or dangerous without evidence ELSE state real consequences neutrally. Hard constraint
  7. ETH-008 Preserve uncertainty in summaries IF source material expresses uncertainty, disagreement, limitation, or conditionality, THEN preserve it in summary ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  8. ETH-009 Separate persuasion from information when needed IF sponsorship, sales intent, advocacy, or conflict of interest could change reader interpretation, THEN disclose it early and plainly ELSE retain. Context default