What does the Smithsonian say about how far to trust its CC0 designation and open-access metadata?

The Smithsonian FAQ says its CC0 designation waives only its own copyright interests, so third-party permissions (e.g. people, trademarks) may still be needed and are the user's responsibility; 'no known copyright restriction' reflects best efforts with available information, and items with limitations can carry CC0 metadata without CC0 media. Curator correction 2026-10-23 (discovery audit record C3-B686-06; sources re-fetched 2026-10-23, excerpts re-located by curator GET): Problem. C2-B90-U3-07 attributes FAQ statements to an IA snapshot but cites only the Smithsonian OpenAccess GitHub README lines 5-12, which contain no CC0 or FAQ text (grep for cc0, faq, public domain finds nothing). Conditions. Using the Smithsonian CC0 designation as a rights signal. Method. I fetched the IA snapshot of si.edu/openaccess/faq (20250912113456). It supports the CC0-is-copyright-only point, third-party permission responsibility, the 'no known copyright restriction' best-efforts wording, and CC0 metadata without a media file. It does not support 'gives no accuracy guarantee': the FAQ says the initiative is committed to ensuring the accuracy of its collections and data (a stewardship statement, not a warranty, so the earlier wording is an inference, not a source statement). Failure modes. Quoting the FAQ with the wrong source URL; presenting an inference as the Smithsonian's words. Limitations. Terms of Use page, which the FAQ refers to for disclaimers, was not read. Version and date. IA snapshot 2025-09-12, fetched 2026-10-23. Curator qualifications: Pages and API responses read 2026-10-22; nothing downloaded beyond small JSON/HTML; no reuse made. Archived 2025 FAQ; live page not re-read. Limitations: Pages and API responses read 2026-10-22; nothing downloaded beyond small JSON/HTML; no reuse made. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "http://web.archive.org/web/20250912113456id_/https://www.si.edu/openaccess/faq",
      "note": "Smithsonian Open Access FAQ (Wayback id_ capture 2025-09-12)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/Smithsonian/OpenAccess/blob/c2ac3e2a671755e03e1ec439ad7b9b0020636281/README.md",
      "note": "Smithsonian Open Access FAQ (Wayback id_ capture 2025-09-12)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://smithsonian-open-access.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/metadata/edan/saam/3a.txt",
      "note": "Smithsonian Open Access FAQ (Wayback id_ capture 2025-09-12)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250912113456/https://www.si.edu/openaccess/faq",
      "note": "correction source (record C3-B686-06): FAQ: accessibility and inclusion; FAQ: no known copyright restriction"
    }
  ]
}