diff --git a/src/layers/news/model.test.mjs b/src/layers/news/model.test.mjs
index b5f3eaba7..e603a1cd2 100644
--- a/src/layers/news/model.test.mjs
+++ b/src/layers/news/model.test.mjs
@@ -600,3 +600,17 @@ test('the hotspots answer carries the window it was counted over', () => {
     null,
   );
 });
+
+test('a checked severity keeps saying who set it', () => {
+  const page = normalizeFeedPayload({
+    reports: ['label', 'model', 'guess'].map((by, i) => ({
+      ...report(`r${i}`, '2026-10-28T09:00:00Z'),
+      severity: 2,
+      severityBy: by,
+    })),
+  });
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    page.reports.map((r) => r.severityBy),
+    ['label', 'model', 'rules'],
+  );
+});
diff --git a/src/layers/news/records.js b/src/layers/news/records.js
index e573f9ac9..afedc1337 100644
--- a/src/layers/news/records.js
+++ b/src/layers/news/records.js
@@ -253,7 +253,9 @@ function normalizeReport(raw) {
       ? raw.relevance
       : 'related',
     severity: severity(raw.severity),
-    severityBy: raw.severityBy === 'model' ? 'model' : 'rules',
+    severityBy: ['model', 'label'].includes(raw.severityBy)
+      ? raw.severityBy
+      : 'rules',
     claim:
       raw.claim && typeof raw.claim === 'object'
         ? { by: text(raw.claim.by, 80) }
diff --git a/src/layers/news/source.js b/src/layers/news/source.js
index 8c739584b..be1df6846 100644
--- a/src/layers/news/source.js
+++ b/src/layers/news/source.js
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const msg = (text) => text;
 const MAX_BYTES = 4 * 1024 * 1024;
 const BASE_PATH = '/api/news';
 // The outline geometry version the client draws (disputed areas included).
-const OUTLINE_VERSION = '3';
+const OUTLINE_VERSION = '4';
 
 /** The three read routes the news layer calls, for a host's path allowlist. */
 export const NEWS_API_PATHS = Object.freeze([
diff --git a/src/layers/news/source.test.mjs b/src/layers/news/source.test.mjs
index c99be800c..4024b88f4 100644
--- a/src/layers/news/source.test.mjs
+++ b/src/layers/news/source.test.mjs
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ test('reads validated hotspots, feed and outlines from the same-origin routes',
     [
       '/api/news/hotspots',
       '/api/news/feed?hotspot=all&limit=60&today=1',
-      '/api/news/outline?hotspot=ua&v=3',
-      '/api/news/outline?country=SD&v=3',
+      '/api/news/outline?hotspot=ua&v=4',
+      '/api/news/outline?country=SD&v=4',
     ],
   );
   for (const { url, init } of calls) {
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ test('the host allowlist admits the client routes and refuses anything else', ()
     '/api/news/air-alerts',
     '/api/news/outline?hotspot=ua',
     '/api/news/outline?hotspot=ua&v=2',
-    '/api/news/outline?country=ukraine&v=3',
+    '/api/news/outline?country=ukraine&v=4',
   ])
     assert.equal(allowed(path), false, path);
 });