diff --git a/news/fix_variants.rst b/news/fix_variants.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8691a81dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/fix_variants.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+**Added:**
+
+* <news item>
+
+**Changed:**
+
+* <news item>
+
+**Deprecated:**
+
+* <news item>
+
+**Removed:**
+
+* <news item>
+
+**Fixed:**
+
+* Don't make assumptions in ``conda_smithy/variant_algebra.py`` about the metadata
+
+**Security:**
+
+* <news item>
+