AI Usage Policy

Last updated: August 2026

Lake Norman of Catawba is an independent, one-person project, and AI tools (specifically Claude, made by Anthropic) are used as part of how it’s built and run. We think readers deserve to know that plainly, so here’s exactly how.

How AI Is Used Here

• Research and drafting. AI is used to help research local topics, draft blog posts, and prepare page content.
• Human review, always. Nothing publishes automatically. Every piece of content — facts, dates, names, sources — is reviewed and approved by a real person (the site’s founder) before it goes live.
• Site operations. AI tools also help manage day-to-day site tasks: fixing links, organizing content, setting up integrations, and similar behind-the-scenes work.

What This Means for Accuracy

AI-assisted drafting doesn’t change our editorial standard: information should be checked, not fabricated. If you spot something that looks off — an AI-generated error, an outdated fact, anything — please let us know. Corrections are welcome and expected.

What AI Doesn’t Do Here

• It doesn’t publish content unsupervised.
• It doesn’t invent sources, quotes, or local details that aren’t independently verifiable.
• It doesn’t make editorial judgment calls about what’s newsworthy or appropriate — that’s a human decision.

Questions about this policy? Email contactus@lakenormanofcatawba.com.