Do not treat dateModified as proof that the whole page was rechecked

Do not treat dateModified as proof that the whole page was rechecked. It is a useful page-level signal, but it does not tell a reader which paragraph changed, which claim was reviewed, or whether a reused citation still supports the same sentence.

Schema.org defines dateModified as the date on which a CreativeWork was most recently modified. Google Search Central recommends using datePublished and dateModified schema when appropriate, with ISO 8601 date formats and clear visible dates. Google article structured data guidance also presents dateModified as a way to provide more accurate date information when it applies to the site.

Those signals are valuable, but they should not be stretched. A page can be modified for layout, examples, related links, small wording, or a major policy change. A reader who only sees a newer date cannot know which kind of change happened. If a note says “this source was updated, so the old claim is still current,” it skips a necessary review step.

A safer source trail separates three dates: published date, modified date, and checked date. Published date belongs to first release. Modified date belongs to the source page. Checked date belongs to the person reusing the source. The checked date should say what was checked: the definition, a table, an eligibility rule, a price, an API behavior, or a warning.

This is especially important for search summaries, policy explainers, product documentation, and compliance notes. The source may be trustworthy, but the reused claim still needs a narrow review line.

Do not treat dateModified as proof that the whole page was rechecked

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