[ MPS/0.1 · explainer ]
What is the Maha Provenance Standard?
MPS/0.1 is a claim-level provenance framework for nonfiction. It labels the evidentiary status of substantive claims so a reader can see what was checked, what was attributed, where knowledge ends, and what remains unverified.
By Mayone Maha Rajan · Maha Strategies LLC ·
The short version
Document-level AI disclosure can say that AI was used, but it does not tell a reader which individual statements were checked. MPS works at the claim level instead. Each substantive claim receives one status tag and, in a structured audit record, a rationale, source field, and recommended action.
MPS is designed for nonfiction written with or without AI assistance. It is intended to make uncertainty inspectable; it does not turn an assertion into a fact, replace source review, or certify a document merely because it carries MPS tags.
The five claim-status tags
VERIFIED
Confirmed by the author against a primary source, direct computation, or first-hand observation.
SOURCED
Attributed to an identified, citable secondary source that has not been independently verified.
BOUNDARY
Reports the limit of knowledge: an open question, untested conjecture, or contested finding.
ILLUSTRATIVE
An analogy, thought experiment, composite example, or structural metaphor that asserts nothing about the world.
UNVERIFIED
A claim awaiting confirmation. It is a flag of unfinished verification, not a license to publish an unchecked assertion as fact.
What MPS covers
Statements of fact, attribution, quantity, causation, and expert consensus that a reader might reasonably rely on. A compliant record can be rendered inline for readers or serialized as JSON for audit tools.
What MPS does not claim
It does not independently prove a claim, guarantee completeness, replace a domain expert, or create a blanket certification. In the current specification, MPS-Certified remains reserved; the defined states are MPS-Declared and MPS-Audited.
[ Citation-ready definition ]
“The Maha Provenance Standard (MPS/0.1) is a claim-level provenance framework that makes the evidentiary status of substantive nonfiction claims explicit, auditable, and machine-readable.”
Suggested citation: Maha Rajan, M. (2026, July 20). What Is the Maha Provenance Standard (MPS)? Maha Strategies LLC. https://www.mahastrategies.com/mps/what-is-mps
Frequently asked questions
What is the Maha Provenance Standard?
MPS/0.1 is a claim-level provenance framework for nonfiction produced with or without AI assistance. It labels the evidentiary status of each substantive claim so readers can distinguish checked evidence, attributed sources, uncertainty, illustration, and work still awaiting verification.
What does MPS tag?
MPS applies to substantive claims: statements of fact, attribution, quantity, causation, or consensus that a reader might reasonably rely on. It does not tag clearly framed opinion, rhetorical questions, or structural prose.
Does an MPS tag prove a claim is true?
No. An MPS tag records the claim’s stated evidentiary status and the checking that was performed. It is not an independent certification of truth, and MPS/0.1 does not replace primary-source verification.
Is MPS a certification?
No. MPS/0.1 defines MPS-Declared and MPS-Audited states. MPS-Certified is reserved in the current specification and is not a general claim that documents using the framework are certified.
Canonical sources and reference implementations
- Maha Provenance Standard (MPS/0.1) specification ↗Canonical specification, tag definitions, compliance levels, and JSON audit-record structure.
- Zenodo archival record: 10.5281/zenodo.21241308 ↗Versioned archival record for the public MPS specification.
- MPS Registry ↗Public, versioned claim-record endpoint with evidence context and review metadata.
- MPS Auditor ↗Reference implementation that produces a structured MPS/0.1 preflight record for a passage.