# S06_CITATION_VERIFICATION_QUEUE.md

**Owner:** Source Integrity Screen (RAM S2)
**Type:** Doctrine (BLOCKING precondition)
**Scope:** Four S06 references that must clear live verification before appearing in user-facing output. Defines the `s06_citation_unverified` error class.

## 1. Why

S06 (LLM-generated-content detection) was produced from training-corpus recall through January 2026 -- the agent lacked live WebFetch. arXiv IDs and venue assignments are from memory. S06's own Source List states: "operators should verify IDs via arXiv/DOI resolver before ingesting." RAM inherits this caveat as a **BLOCKING precondition for Phase 9**. Quoting a queued reference without verification triggers `s06_citation_unverified` and STOPs the run.

## 2. The Queue

| # | Citation (as recalled in S06) | Claim of record | Verification artifacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sadasivan et al. 2024, arXiv:2303.11156, TMLR 2024 | Best-possible detector's AUROC approaches 0.5 as LLM distributions approach human. **Contradiction source.** | arXiv ID resolves; TMLR venue; abstract matches. |
| 2 | Liang et al. 2023, arXiv:2304.02819, Patterns 2023 | 61% FPR against non-native TOEFL essays from seven commercial detectors. **Load-bearing harm pattern.** | arXiv ID resolves; Patterns DOI; numeric FPR visible. |
| 3 | Kirchenbauer et al. 2023, arXiv:2301.10226, ICML 2023 | Green-list / red-list token biasing; AUC >0.99 at 200+ tokens; defeated by paraphrase. | arXiv ID resolves; ICML 2023 proceedings; AUC visible. |
| 4 | Mitchell et al. 2023 (DetectGPT), arXiv:2301.11305, ICML 2023 | Log-probability curvature under perturbation; AUROC 0.95+ in-domain; degrades out-of-domain. | arXiv ID resolves; ICML 2023 proceedings; AUROC visible. |

**STATUS UPDATE 2026-04-26 (Phase 9 prep, Section 6.1):** All four citations VERIFIED via live WebFetch. Tags flipped UNVERIFIED -> VERIFIED. Verification record: `build/phase-9-eval/section-6-research/S06_CITATION_VERIFICATION_RECORD.md`. Cache TTL: 30 days; re-verify by 2026-05-26.

Body-quote caveats: Liang 2023 "61% FPR" exact value and Kirchenbauer 2023 ">0.99 AUC" exact values were not body-confirmed (Patterns DOI 403 anonymous; ICML proceedings surfaced abstract only). Abstract-level findings + paper identity confirmed. If any downstream render quotes body-level numerics as load-bearing, operator should re-verify via institutional PDF access.

Originally: all four carried `UNVERIFIED` in every internal write until cleared. Downstream readers (Fitness Adjudicator, Epistemic Output Layer) check the tag and refuse user-facing render.

## 3. Verification Procedure (WebFetch)

For each queued reference:

1. WebFetch `https://arxiv.org/abs/{arxiv_id}` -- confirm title and author set.
2. Extract abstract; confirm the numeric claim (FPR, AUROC, AUC) matches or cross-check against venue record.
3. WebFetch the TMLR / Patterns DOI / ICML 2023 proceedings record. Confirm authors and title.
4. All three passing -> strip `UNVERIFIED`; record artifacts (URL, timestamp, excerpt) in S2 private cache.
5. Any check failing -> citation stays `UNVERIFIED`. Options: (a) omit (preferred for non-load-bearing); (b) substitute a verified citation carrying the same claim; (c) escalate to operator with Surprise-Register-visible note.

Verification is citation-specific. Clearing one does NOT clear others. Cache TTL: 30 days.

## 4. `s06_citation_unverified` Error Class

**Definition.** Rendering any of the four queued references in user-facing output (S4 artifact, rendered Ledger, Adversarial Pass argument, rendered Surprise Register entry) while tagged `UNVERIFIED` raises this error.

**Handling.** STOP the run. Orchestrator alarm. Escalate with offending citation, missing artifacts, WebFetch path. NO degrade-and-continue. NO silent substitute. NO cite-from-recall.

**Blast radius.** RAM-wide halt. An unverified citation in one rationale poisons the output's epistemic standing.

## 5. Maintenance

- Cache TTL 30 days. Re-verify on expiry and on Phase 3 S06 re-research.
- If a previously-cleared citation newly fails (withdrawn, venue corrected), restore `UNVERIFIED` immediately.
- Queue is open-ended; new rows default to `UNVERIFIED`.

## 6. Operator Escalation

```
ERROR: s06_citation_unverified
Citation: <full recalled citation>
Missing: <arxiv_resolve | venue_confirm | claim_match>
Blocking: <rendered-artifact-id>
WebFetch: Section 3
Action: <omit | replace | escalate>
```

Operator decides; S2 refuses the render.
