diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PublishedContent/IPublishedContent.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PublishedContent/IPublishedContent.cs
index e50fb2c396..f613f926e9 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PublishedContent/IPublishedContent.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PublishedContent/IPublishedContent.cs
@@ -156,10 +156,17 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Models.PublishedContent
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets a value indicating whether the content is published.
         /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="culture"></param>
+        /// <remarks>
+        /// <para>A content is published when it has a published version.</para>
+        /// <para>When retrieving documents from cache in non-preview mode, IsPublished is always
+        /// true, as only published documents are returned. When retrieving in draft mode, IsPublished
+        /// can either be true (document has a published version) or false (document has no
+        /// published version).</para>
+        /// <para>It is therefore possible for both IsDraft and IsPublished to be true at the same
+        /// time, meaning that the content is the draft version, and a published version exists.</para>
+        /// </remarks>
         bool IsPublished(string culture = null);
 
-
         #endregion
 
         #region Tree
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PublishedContent/PublishedContentWrapped.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PublishedContent/PublishedContentWrapped.cs
index 42ff16bae5..8bf8cec244 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PublishedContent/PublishedContentWrapped.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PublishedContent/PublishedContentWrapped.cs
@@ -114,7 +114,6 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Models.PublishedContent
         /// <inheritdoc />
         public virtual bool IsPublished(string culture = null) => _content.IsPublished(culture);
 
-
         #endregion
 
         #region Tree
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/PublishedContentBase.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/PublishedContentBase.cs
index 12acb6b0c8..45243b86e6 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/PublishedContentBase.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/PublishedContentBase.cs
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.Models
         /// <inheritdoc />
         public abstract bool IsDraft(string culture = null);
 
+        /// <inheritdoc />
         public abstract bool IsPublished(string culture = null);
 
         #endregion
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/PublishedCache/NuCache/PublishedContent.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/PublishedCache/NuCache/PublishedContent.cs
index 69c672ab98..3f57bf3340 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/PublishedCache/NuCache/PublishedContent.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/PublishedCache/NuCache/PublishedContent.cs
@@ -293,8 +293,11 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PublishedCache.NuCache
             return _contentData.CultureInfos.TryGetValue(culture, out var cvar) && cvar.IsDraft;
         }
 
+        /// <inheritdoc />
         public override bool IsPublished(string culture = null)
         {
+            // fixme I don't understand this - and it does probably not do what's expected
+
             if (!ContentType.VariesByCulture())
             {
                 return _contentData.Published;
@@ -302,9 +305,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PublishedCache.NuCache
 
             // handle context culture
             if (culture == null)
-            {
                 culture = VariationContextAccessor?.VariationContext?.Culture ?? "";
-            }
 
             //If the current culture is not a draft, it must be the published version
             return _contentData.CultureInfos.TryGetValue(culture, out var cvar) && !cvar.IsDraft;
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/PublishedCache/XmlPublishedCache/XmlPublishedContent.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/PublishedCache/XmlPublishedCache/XmlPublishedContent.cs
index c3cf22559d..f601114ffd 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/PublishedCache/XmlPublishedCache/XmlPublishedContent.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/PublishedCache/XmlPublishedCache/XmlPublishedContent.cs
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PublishedCache.XmlPublishedCache
         public override bool IsPublished(string culture = null)
         {
             EnsureNodeInitialized();
-            return _isPublished;
+            return _isPublished; // bah
         }
 
         public override IEnumerable<IPublishedProperty> Properties
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PublishedCache.XmlPublishedCache
             name = writerName = urlName = creatorName = docTypeAlias = path = null;
             createDate = updateDate = default(DateTime);
             isDraft = false;
-            isPublished = false;
+            isPublished = false; // fixme not implemented?
             contentType = null;
             properties = null;