A provider record does not become canonical merely because an integration retrieved it. The safe conceptual path separates what a provider reported from what the agency has accepted as operational truth.
The progression
Provider Record → Raw Evidence → Normalized Observation → Mapping Recommendation → Confirmed Binding → Fact Promotion → Canonical Fact → Projection
On small screens, read that sequence from left to right as a progression:
1. Provider Record — the source-specific representation. 2. Raw Evidence — retained evidence of what the provider supplied. 3. Normalized Observation — a provider-neutral interpretation. 4. Mapping Recommendation — a proposed identity association. 5. Confirmed Binding — an approved, durable identity association. 6. Fact Promotion — the conceptual act of authorizing an observation as canonical. 7. Canonical Fact — accepted provider-neutral operational truth. 8. Projection — a rebuildable view optimized for use or analysis.
“Fact Promotion” is useful shared vocabulary, but it is not yet a claim that every Kernel module exposes one universal promotion command. Promotion policy remains dataset-specific.