As an unedited and unfiltered open-media reporting platform, Allvoices has developed a "Report Credibility Rating System" that is intended to indicate the trustworthiness of the story and help our community sort through uncensored citizen media reports to find the news that matters to them the most.

The Report Credibility Meter is a simple five-bar indicator found at the bottom of every news report that analyzes content combined with the reputation of the author of the report. The Report Credibility rating scale is determined by the level of community interaction and response to the story, reporter reputation over time, and the power of the Allvoices intelligent news analysis platform.

Report Credibility is dynamic and changes over time. As the community interacts with the report and more confirming evidence is discovered, the report's credibility will change.

The Report Credibility rating can be influenced in the following ways:

1. The number of rates up or down the report received from Allvoices readers and contributors. Ratings from registered users count more than those of unregistered users
2. How many people flagged the report as inappropriate or a violation of Allvoices' Terms of Use
3. How many contributors posted additional content to the report page (i.e. add images, videos, news stories, etc.)
4. How many contributors comments the report received
5. How much content the Allvoices intelligent news analysis engine found on the Internet related to the report
6. How many similar reports were reported on Allvoices by other Allvoices contributors
7. How has the community reacted to content from the author in the past
8. How strong a reputation the author of the report has. Reputation develops over time.

Allvoices developed a multi-faceted approach to measuring Report Credibility because Allvoices wants everyone's voice to be heard, regardless of their reputation on the site.

• Credibility
  Allvoices has very little data to determine if this report is true or false, it has not yet been vetted by the Allvoices community by rating the report up or down or adding comments, and Allvoices intelligent news analysis “engine” has not found any new “real time” supporting material on the Internet or any similar reports written by other Allvoices Users who have a reputation on Allvoices. Additionally, the Allvoices User has not yet established a reputation on Allvoices.
• Credibility
  Allvoices still does not have enough data to determine if the report is true or false, but the Allvoices community may be starting to react to the report by commenting or rating the report up or down, or the Allvoices User is beginning to establish a reputation on Allvoices.
• Credibility
  There is a higher chance that what this User is reporting is true and can be trusted. The Allvoices user may be well on their way towards establishing a reputation on Allvoices or the Allvoices community is becoming more engaged with the report by commenting and rating.
• Credibility
  This Allvoices User does not yet have the highest reputation on Allvoices, but Allvoices is finding some supporting materials in real time as well as the community is rating it as high and adding supporting materials such as images, videos, news stories, etc.
• Credibility
  The Allvoices User who wrote this report has a high reputation on Allvoices and can be trusted, or the Allvoices User has not yet established a reputation but his or her report can be well corroborated from articles found on credible news sources. The User may or may not agree or disagree with what exactly those news stories may be saying. Allvoices intelligent news analysis “engine” looks for facts and factual event details instead of analysis and opinion.

If you are new to Allvoices, your first reports may have a low credibility rating until you start to build up your reputation. Since Allvoices is an unedited site, please keep in mind that Report Credibility levels are totally dependent on engaging with other Users in the community and the ability of Allvoices' technology framework to help frame rich and relevant supporting content around your report.

If you are not satisfied with an initial lower credibility rating, you have the ability to increase the Report Credibility rating level by posting additional supporting material to your report so that Allvoices intelligent news analysis engine can more effectively corroborate your credibility and increase the Report Credibility level. Here are some helpful suggestions:

• Add a relevant news story to the related news story tab on your report
• Respond to community feedback and comments
• Add a related blog on the blog tab on your report
• Invite other Allvoices contributors to become your fan and to rate you up. Your fans may have a higher level of credibility status that will help bump up your Report Credibility level
• Continue to write stories on Allvoices and let your reputation develop organically, as you move from Stringer, to Reporter to Anchor status