Records · Verification table
Inequality Do page: verification of the "What happens after" section, 6 November 2026
The working record behind the pages, published as written. Source file source/verify/inequality-after-2026-11-06.md. All records.
Scope. Every factual sentence in the new <h2 id="after">What happens after</h2> section of content/inequality-do.html and its four new source entries (s17 to s20). Nothing else on the page was changed. The section answers ROUTINE.md field 4: what happens after a gift to GiveDirectly (and how to stop a monthly one), after writing a state legislator, after signing up to volunteer at a free tax site, and after a tenant asks for a lawyer in New York City Housing Court.
Method. Every source was fetched on 2026-11-06 between 10:49 and 10:53 EST (date read 10:49:47 at the first fetch and 10:56:04 after the last check; file times 10:49:48 to 10:52:26). Default: curl with a browser user agent, HTML stripped to text, PDFs read with pdftotext -layout. Two web searches were run to find sources on state legislators' replies and on what state offices do with mail; every row below rests on the fetched document, not on a search summary. No sentence rests on memory or on an earlier run's quote. Quotes are copied from the fetched text.
Verdicts. CONFIRMED: the source's words support the sentence as written. CONFIRMED (paraphrase): the sentence restates the source in plainer words; the row says what was shortened. CONTEST KEPT: two sources disagree and the page gives both. OUR FINDING: a statement about what our search did or didn't find, said as ours. Grades use the site's scale (content/about.html).
Fetch log (all 2026-11-06, EST)
A. GiveDirectly (s17)
| # | Page says | Source | Exact quote | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | "After you give to GiveDirectly online, you should get a confirmation email shortly." | FAQ | "If you make a donation online, you should receive a confirmation email from us shortly." | CONFIRMED |
| A2 | "For most programs, its staff pick extremely poor villages from national poverty surveys, then enrol adults door to door." | FAQ; how it works | FAQ: "For most of our programs, we identify extremely poor villages from national poverty survey data and then enroll in-person all households or adults within those villages." How it works: "We enroll adults over 18, door to door." | CONFIRMED (paraphrase; "households or adults" shortened to "adults", as the how-it-works page has it) |
| A3 | "The money goes to each recipient's phone by mobile money, with a text when it's sent." | FAQ | "We send recipients cash transfers through a technology called 'mobile money' that allows funds to be sent digitally to someone's SIM card." "Recipients receive a text alert when we send their transfer." | CONFIRMED |
| A4 | "GiveDirectly's FAQ says a household in its Africa programs typically gets a one-time $750 to $1,000; its how-it-works page describes about $100 first, then about $650 two months later." | FAQ; how it works | FAQ: "For our large transfer programs in Africa, each household typically receives a one-time transfer of $750–$1,000 USD." How it works: ">87% of your donation goes here. First we send ~$100, then ~$650 two months later, straight to recipients' phones." | CONTEST KEPT (one-time vs two payments; both given, each attributed). The how-it-works ">87%" figure was not added: the page already gives GiveWell's 71% to 85% (s2), and a second efficiency number belongs in a re-read of step 1, not here. |
| A5 | "In its standard programs, it says it enrols the person your gift will reach within a few months, and pays within a few months more." | FAQ | "For our standard programs, we enroll the recipient who will receive your donation within a few months of the gift and deliver the money within another few months." | CONFIRMED |
| A6 | "You can't choose the person." | FAQ | "Can I choose the person who will receive my donation? No. You can choose which GiveDirectly programs to donate to, but not individual recipients." | CONFIRMED |
| A7 | "To stop or change a monthly gift: on givedirectly.org, follow "Edit monthly donation", choose "Email me a login link", and manage the gift in your Impact Dashboard (checked 6 Nov 2026)." | FAQ (HTML and text); dashboard sign-in page | FAQ: "How can I update or cancel my monthly donation amount? Visit your Impact Dashboard to manage your recurring donations." The FAQ's menu link <a href="https://donate.givedirectly.org/dashboard/request-magic-link">Edit monthly donation</a>. Sign-in page: "Access your Impact Dashboard to manage your donations." "Email me a login link". | CONFIRMED (the path was read to the sign-in page; no account was used, so the dashboard's own cancel button was not seen) |
B. Writing a state legislator (s18)
| # | Page says | Source | Exact quote | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | "you may or may not get a reply. Across 41 experiments that wrote to public officials, about half the messages got one (53%)" | Costa 2017 | "a final dataset of 28 published and 13 unpublished experiments that could be located as of February 23, 2016, for a total of 41 experiments"; "The average observed effect of the treatment is 0.529. That is, political elites respond to constituent communication 53% of the time." | CONFIRMED |
| B2 | "and elected officials answered less often than appointed ones." | Costa 2017 | "messages sent to elected officials (as opposed to non-elected) are significantly less likely to receive a response"; "elected political elites significantly decrease the observed response rate by 18% (p < 0.05) as opposed to non-elected elites, such as bureaucratic officials." | CONFIRMED (paraphrase: "non-elected" given as "appointed") |
| B3 | "Most of those messages asked for help, not for a vote." | Costa 2017, Table 2 | "Service request 34 83.0" (34 of 41 experiments); "policy related communications are largely avoided by many researchers in lieu of service requests" | CONFIRMED (paraphrase; "service request" given as "asked for help") |
| B4 | "In a 2008 experiment, 2,747 of 4,859 state legislators answered an email asking how to register to vote" | Butler and Broockman 2011 | "we conducted a field experiment in October 2008 involving 4,859 U.S. state legislators"; "we received 2,747 responses to the 4,859 emails"; "requests for help with registering to vote" | CONFIRMED. Origin: a course-hosted copy of the JSTOR PDF; the JSTOR cover page and journal pagination are intact, and the DOI was matched to the title by Crossref. |
| B5 | "in another study of state legislators, 19% replied." | Costa 2017 | "The response rates range from 0.19 to 0.79. The lowest response rate occurred in an experiment by Butler et al. (2012) conducted on U.S. state legislators." | CONFIRMED (via Costa; Butler, Karpowitz and Pope 2012 itself was not read) |
| B6 | "Writers with Black or Latino names got fewer replies." | Costa 2017; Butler and Broockman 2011 | Costa: "racial/ethnic minorities … are significantly less likely to receive a response"; "Latinos are 14.2 percentage points less likely to receive a response than white constituents, compared to a 7.3 percentage point deficit for Blacks." Butler and Broockman: "putatively black requests receive fewer replies." | CONFIRMED (paraphrase: the experiments signal race through the sender's name; "putatively" dropped) |
| B7 | "Some studies find officials answer people in their own district more often, so say where you live." | Costa 2017 | "Some scholars have also found that elected officials are more likely to respond to constituents in their own representational jurisdiction (e.g. Broockman, 2013)" | CONFIRMED (via Costa; Broockman 2013 not read). "So say where you live" is advice, consistent with the page's own five-sentence step. |
| B8 | "What the office does with it: we found little published for state offices." | two web searches; NCSL attempts | Searches returned advocacy groups' tips, one legislator's newsletter (B9) and news; NCSL's staff page gave no readable text. | OUR FINDING (absence of evidence in what we searched, not evidence of absence) |
| B9 | "In 2013, Oregon's House Speaker wrote that her office got over 100 emails a day. She couldn't reply personally to each, so her staff gave her daily updates on the messages and helped her draft replies." | Kotek newsletter, 31 May 2013 | "My office receives over 100 emails per day and nearly 35,000 emails each year"; "While I do my best to read every message, it is practically impossible for me to reply personally to every message. My staff works with me to enhance my responsiveness by giving me daily updates about the messages we are receiving and working with me to craft responses." Signed "State Representative Tina Kotek / Speaker of the House". | CONFIRMED (one office, 2013; graded primary for that office only) |
C. Volunteering at a free tax site (s19)
| # | Page says | Source | Exact quote | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | "the IRS shares your details with sponsoring organisations near you for follow-up." | IRS tax volunteers | "We will share your volunteer interest with sponsoring organizations in your area for follow-up contact." | CONFIRMED |
| C2 | "Training is free, online or in a classroom." | IRS tax volunteers; Choose your role | "Training is offered both online and in the classroom." "The hours are flexible, the training is free, and the time commitment is up to you." | CONFIRMED |
| C3 | "To certify on Link & Learn Taxes, register on its test site, VITA/TCE Central, with the name on your government ID." | Pub 5378 | "All volunteers are required to register and certify via Link & Learn Taxes online testing site, VITA/TCE Central." "Make sure the name entered matches your government issued ID." | CONFIRMED |
| C4 | "Pass two tests first, on the volunteer standards of conduct and on interviewing and quality review, then the tax-law test for your course, such as Basic or Advanced." | Pub 5378; Pub 5379; Link and Learn Taxes | 5379: "You must first complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct and the Intake/Interview and Quality Review test." 5378: "It is not possible to take any of the other exams without first passing both the VSOC exam and the Intake/ Interview and Quality Review exam." "Click on your course of training, such as Basic, Advanced, Military, or International." | CONFIRMED. Pub 5378 says the Intake/Interview test is for "All tax preparers, Quality Reviewers, Instructors, and Site Coordinators"; the sentence is in the tax-preparer path. |
| C5 | "Each needs 80%, and you get two tries." | Pub 5378; Pub 5379 | 5378: "You must pass the VSOC Exam with a score of 80% or greater"; "You must pass the 10-question exam with a score of 80% or greater." 5379: "The passing score is 80% or higher." "A maximum of two attempts are allowed to certify for each test." | CONFIRMED |
| C6 | "Then sign Form 13615, the volunteer agreement. Your site coordinator checks your photo ID and certification before you work at a site." | Pub 5378 | "After completing all the exams you plan to take, print or save Form 13615, read and sign it, and return it to your sponsor or Site Coordinator." "The site coordinator must verify your name and address with your government issued photo identification and confirm you have completed the required training and certification prior to working at a site." | CONFIRMED |
| C7 | "sites are generally open nights and weekends, and the IRS says the hours are flexible." | IRS tax volunteers | "Tax sites are generally open nights and weekends, and the hours are flexible." | CONFIRMED |
| C8 | "NYC Free Tax Prep's timeline: info sessions from October to December 2026, training and the free, open-book IRS tests from November 2026 to January 2027, and returns from January to April 2027." | NYC flyer; interest form | Flyer: "1 Learn about NYC FREE TAX PREP 10/2026 – 12/2026 … Attend an Information Session." "2 Get TRAINED AND CERTIFIED 11/2026 – 01/2027 … Successfully complete the open-book IRS certification tests. Tests are free." "3 Start MAKING A DIFFERENCE 01/2027 – 04/2027". Interest form: "tax season will run from January to April 2027." | CONFIRMED. The volunteer page lists info sessions from 27 October to 3 December 2026; the page's existing line on the 3 December session already carries data-until. |
| C9 | "Its flyer asks for one 4-to-8-hour shift a week, with on-site support on every return; its FAQ says each week or every other week." | NYC flyer; Become a volunteer | Flyer: "Volunteer for one 4 to 8 hour shift per week. Receive on-site support with every return you file." FAQ: "serving as a regular volunteer each week or every other week." | CONTEST KEPT (both given) |
No national season dates were stated on the IRS pages read; IRS "Choose your tax volunteer role" says only "Volunteers are needed in all these sites during the tax filing season." The section gives NYC's dates and says whose they are.
D. Asking for a lawyer in NYC Housing Court (s20)
| # | Page says | Source | Exact quote | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | "legal-aid staff screen you on or shortly after your first court date." | Legal Services NYC; HRA | LSNYC: "Screenings for legal representation under the Right to Counsel law happen on or shortly after the first court date, or "intake date"". HRA: "Right-to-Counsel (or Universal Access) legal service providers are connecting with tenants at their first Housing Court conferences." | CONFIRMED |
| D2 | "If you can't get there, or you appear remotely, tell court staff you want an attorney." | Legal Services NYC | "If you cannot get to court for your first date or you are appearing remotely, tell the court staff that you want an attorney to represent you." | CONFIRMED |
| D3 | "Legal Services NYC says full representation goes to tenants 60 or older, or with household income at or below twice the federal poverty guideline; the City's page names no income test." | Legal Services NYC; HRA | LSNYC: "You qualify for free legal representation in an eviction case if: You are 60 years old or older. Your household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guideline". HRA: "free and available in every ZIP code, regardless of immigration status … free legal representation or advice"; no income test on the page. | CONTEST KEPT. LSNYC's dollar equivalents ("about $30,000 … $62,000") were not used: the page was last updated 9 June 2025. |
| D4 | "There aren't enough lawyers for everyone, so some tenants get advice to handle the case themselves." | Legal Services NYC | "Right now, there are not enough lawyers to cover all the cases where they are needed. Legal services providers may only be able to offer advice to help you handle your case on your own." | CONFIRMED |
| D5 | "A judge can ask for a lawyer for a tenant who is very elderly or disabled." | Legal Services NYC | "If a tenant is particularly vulnerable, (for example, very elderly, disabled, or otherwise incapacitated) the judge can also make a special request to get them legal representation." | CONFIRMED |
| D6 | "The lawyer is free; a caller who asks you for money is likely a scam." | Legal Services NYC | "Right to Counsel lawyers' services are free of charge. If you get a phone call from someone who claims to be a lawyer and asks you for money, it is likely to be a scam." | CONFIRMED |
| D7 | "in cases with a full lawyer that closed in the City's 2025 fiscal year, providers reported 83% of households allowed to stay. That count includes households given more time to move out." | OCJ annual report FY2025, Figure 12 | "FIGURE 12: FY25 PROVIDER-REPORTED FULL REPRESENTATION OUTCOMES"; "NYC 880 17% … NYC 4,352 83%"; "OCJ analysis of provider-reported data. "Household allowed to remain" includes households given additional time to move out as well as households that avoided eviction entirely. Data based on provider-reported outcomes for matters closed in FY25." | CONFIRMED (graded primary as the City's report; the outcomes are the providers' own reports) |
Counts
32 rows: 28 CONFIRMED (A2, B2, B3 and B6 paraphrase; B5 and B7 via Costa's review), 3 CONTEST KEPT (A4, C9, D3), 1 OUR FINDING (B8), 0 corrected, 0 not in source. BLOCKED: 1 (nycourts.gov, not needed). UNREACHABLE, UNFETCHABLE: none.
For the gate
The new source entries link two hosts the site had not linked before: content.govdelivery.com (s18, the Oregon newsletter) and www.legalservicesnyc.org (s20). No giving link, phone number or consent line was added; the GiveDirectly cancel path is written as words, not as a link to donate.givedirectly.org.
What would make this wrong
GiveDirectly's timing and amounts are its own statements, not audited here. The reply-rate studies are from 2008 to 2016, and most asked for help rather than about a bill; a state office's reply to a policy letter in 2026 could differ. The Oregon account is one office in 2013. LSNYC's eligibility rule is a provider's summary of the law; the law itself (NYC Admin. Code §26-1301) was not read this run (source/impact/needs-2026-11-06.md records a 403 earlier today). The 83% is provider-reported. NYC's dates are for the 2027 season and go stale after April 2027.
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