Article markup commonly describes the headline, author, image and publication dates. It supplements the visible page so software can interpret those details consistently. (Google Article structured data ↗)
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Comparing the page with its markup
Illustrative pair: the visible article headline is “Council approves 2026 budget,” and the structured data gives the same headline plus the actual author and dates. If the markup names a different writer or date, it is inaccurate even if its syntax validates.
Valid markup can still describe false details
Compare the visible article with every block of article markup on the page. A theme and a plugin can emit conflicting copies, such as different authors or dates. Syntax validation alone will not tell you which description is truthful.
Check the markup after changing an article
Compare the headline, author and dates a reader sees with the values in the rendered markup. Look again after a correction or a template change. The values can differ if the two views draw from different fields, even when the markup passes a syntax check.