Legitimate Universal Bio API
Version 1.0
This API allows users to verify articles and domains; extracting information about them. The main endpoint is:
'https://www.legitimate.net/api/verify_article'
- Verifies an article and retrieves detailed information about it. More endpoints will be launching in the coming weeks.
Onboarding
To be able to make API calls you need to have a Legitimate profile. After creating a Legitimate profile visit https://www.legitimate.net/apis.html (available in the footer) where you can sign up for an API account.

Once you sign up for an account your API credentials will be available in your settings area under "API Settings" tab.

Authentication
To authenticate your call you need to use a Bearer Token made up from your API key and secret.
Uivayfc1Tvk2SED6rEohPvGt:8XCjPrzqCZ11r554JPWDn26g
Verify Article
POST
https://www.legitimate.io/api/verify_article
Query Parameters
url
string
The url of the article or post you wish to verify
Headers
Authentication
Bearer Token
Authentication is based on a bearer token comprised of your API key and API secret separated with a colon.
ABiuhfU7vWNxDFGebnZWtg6K:WoKdUawkLGozQzeMwpczYUAd
Fields:
verified
Indicates if the profile is verified
true
boolean
type
The "type" field can help you determine the way to handle the response. There are 4 main response types: Article Verified, Domain Verified Plus, Domain Verified, Unverified.
Unverified
String
profile_first_name
First name of the profile owner
Gerard
string
profile_last_name
Last name of the profile owner
Donnelly
string
profile_title
Title of the profile owner
Founder
string
profile_created_at
Timestamp when the profile was created
2020-04-08T19:52:31.704Z
string (ISO 8601 datetime)
profile_bio
Biography of the profile owner
I am passionate about journalism and the fight against disinformation...
string
profile_employer
Employer of the profile owner
Legitimate
string
profile_residing
Places where the profile owner resides
Belfast, London
string
profile_slug
Unique identifier for the profile
gerard-donnelly
string
profile_image
URL to the profile image
https://www.legitimate.net/.../Screenshot%202022-07-29%20at%2019.29.49.png
string (URL)
profile_social_profiles
Social media profiles of the profile owner
{ "twitter": "gdonnelly82", "linkedin": "gerard-donnelly", "instagram": "gdonnelly82" }
object
user_location
Location of the user
United Kingdom
string
user_city
City of the user
Belfast
string
follower_count
Number of followers
11
integer
article_count
Number of articles written by the profile owner
18
integer
awards
Awards received by the profile owner
""
string
memberships
Memberships of the profile owner
""
string
articles
List of articles written by the profile owner
[ {...}, {...}, {...} ]
array of objects
domain_info
Information about the domain
{}
object
For the nested articles
array, each object within it has the following fields:
id
Unique identifier for the article
1747781
integer
title
Title of the article
The role of Local News in countering misinformation
string
description
Description of the article
Local newspapers are crucial in combating misinformation by providing verified...
string
link
URL to the article
https://blog.legitimate.net/.../the-role-of-local-news-in-countering-misinformation/
string (URL)
og_image
URL to the Open Graph image for the article
https://blog.legitimate.net/.../local-news-misinformation.jpg
string (URL)
icon_path
URL to the icon image for the article
string (URL)
published_at
Timestamp when the article was published
2024-04-23T23:47:00.000Z
string (ISO 8601 datetime)
tag_list
List of tags associated with the article
[ "Legitimate" ]
array of strings
For the nested domain_info
object, the table is as follows:
publication_name
Name of the publication
Advocate Media - Dallas
string
domain
The domain name
advocatemag.com
string
description
Description of the publication. This is a max of 200 characters.
A local publication delivering neighborhood news, culture, and events...
string
year_founded
Year the publication was founded
1991
integer
bodies_associations
List of associations and bodies the domain is part of
[ { "accrnym": "LION", "name": "Local Independent Online Media", ... }, { "accrnym": "INN", ... } ]
array of objects
publisher
Publisher of the publication
null
null
publisher_description
Description of the publisher. This is a max of 200 characters.
null
null
country
Country where the publication is based
USA
string
city
City where the publication is based
Dallas
string
state
State where the publication is based
TX
string
logo_path
URL to the logo image of the publication
string (URL)
registration_data
Information about the domain registration
{ "registrant_name": "REDACTED FOR PRIVACY", "registrant_country": "UNITED STATES", ... }
object
For the nested bodies_associations
array within domain_info
, each object has the following fields:
acronym
Acronym of the body or association
LION
string
name
Name of the body or association
Local Independent Online Media
string
description
Description of the body or association. This is a max of 200 characters.
Lion provides great stuff
string
profile_image_url
URL to the profile image of the body or association
string (URL)
For the nested registration_data
object within domain_info
, the table is as follows:
registrant_name
Name of the domain registrant
REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
string
registrant_country
Country of the domain registrant
UNITED STATES
string
registrar_company
Registrar company of the domain
ENOM, INC.
string
domain_created
Date when the domain was created
1996-07-29
string (ISO date)
domain_updated
Date when the domain was last updated
2023-07-23
string (ISO date)
Example call
https://www.legitimate.net/api/verify_article?url=https://syncni.com/view/4879/are-tech-giants-do-enough-to-combat-fake-news
Always try to include https:// or http:// in the query string.
Response Types
The "type" field can help you determine what way to handle the response.
There are 4 main response types:
Article Verified: The article and author are verified.
Domain Verified Plus: The article is not verified but the domain is verified and additional information is supplied such as other journalists (up to 3) that write for that publication and the latest articles (3).
Domain Verified: The article is not verified but we can verify the domain and provide domain information.
Unverified: Both the article and the domain are not verified. We will then supply additional context and details regarding the domain.
{
"verified": true,
"type":"Article Verified",
"profile_first_name": "El",
"profile_last_name": "Calabrese",
"profile_title": "News Reporter/News Producer/Writer/Video/Photo/Project Manager/Legal Clearance and Compliance",
"profile_created_at": "2023-12-23T22:12:55.272Z",
"profile_bio": "I'm Hunter's pet and occasionally his seat. I also do many things media-wise and am a daily newshound tooling about the northeast region. Let me know if we might be able to help one another...",
"profile_employer": "Freelance",
"profile_residing": "",
"profile_slug": "el-calabrese",
"profile_image": "https://www.legitimate.net/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBOUY5RGc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--5b51624bf50ecb5065805100a8ac0b9701dc8f25/IMG_4462.jpeg",
"profile_social_profiles": {},
"user_location": "US",
"user_city": "NY",
"follower_count": 0,
"article_count": 3,
"awards": "",
"memberships": "",
"articles": [
{
"id": 1634752,
"title": "Baby Nikolai's death is not a result of bone disease, prosecutors say",
"description": "Bail was denied Wednesday for Quincy Pierre, held in the death of an 11-week-old baby.",
"link": "https://www.insider.com/baby-nikolais-death-homicide-not-result-bone-disease-prosecutors-say-2023-11",
"og_image": "https://i.insider.com/654c227436d588dc55cd844f?width=780&format=jpeg",
"icon_path": "https://www.insider.com/public/assets/INSIDER/US/favicons/favicon.svg?v=2023-11",
"published_at": "2023-11-08T19:10:00.000Z",
"tag_list": [
"Crime"
]
},
{
"id": 1634750,
"title": "Journey of a Bullet: Survivors describe what happens after you’re shot",
"description": "Six men and women describe what it’s like to be shot and cope with the enduring trauma.",
"link": "https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/journey-of-a-bullet",
"og_image": "https://nodeassets.nbcnews.com/cdnassets/projects/journey-bullet-vids01/job-share-img.jpg",
"icon_path": "https://www.nbcnews.com/../_assets/images/appicon192.png",
"published_at": "2017-06-20T00:00:00.000Z",
"tag_list": [
"NBC News",
"specials",
"reporting"
]
},
{
"id": 1634751,
"title": "Orlando Gay Clubs Come Together to Support Pulse Staff",
"description": "The Orlando LGBT community is pulling together to support the staff of Pulse, who have found themselves without a way to pay the bills.",
"link": "https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/orlando-gay-clubs-come-together-support-pulse-staff-n593281",
"og_image": "https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1500w,f_auto,q_auto:best/newscms/2016_24/1580656/160615-pulse-nightclub-01-jsw-642p.JPG",
"icon_path": "https://nodeassets.nbcnews.com/cdnassets/projects/ramen/favicon/nbcnews/all-other-sizes-PNG.ico/favicon.ico",
"published_at": "2016-06-15T20:51:00.000Z",
"tag_list": [
"News"
]
}
],
"domain_info": {
"publication_name": "Insider",
"domain": "insider.com",
"description": "Insider.com offers a mix of original reporting and aggregated content on topics like business, tech, politics, and lifestyle, aiming to provide fascinating stories for enterprising readers",
"year_founded": 2007,
"domain_age": null,
"bodies_associations": null,
"publisher": "Axel Springer",
"publisher_description": "Axel Springer is Europe's largest newspaper publisher.",
"country": "USA",
"city": "Arlington",
"phone": null,
"state": "Virginia",
"logo_path": null,
"registration_data": {
"registrant_name": "PERFECT PRIVACY, LLC",
"registrant_country": "UNITED STATES",
"registrar_company": "Register.com, Inc.",
"domain_created": "1997-06-06",
"domain_updated": "2021-12-11"
}
}
Article Verified Example

When an article is verified a design similar to the image above could be created to represent the article's author. Additional domain information will also be sent if you wanted to display that as well.
Domain Verified Plus

This is an example of what is possible using the Domain Verified Plus response data.
Domain Verified

An example of using the Domain Verified response. For the associations sub section. The API will supply the image, acronym, full name and description. In the example above we have shown the logos however you could add hover effects to show more information from the API.

See the sub section code below:
"bodies_associations": [
{
"accrnym": "LION",
"name": "Local Independent Online Media",
"description": "Lion provides great stuff",
"profile_image_url": "https://legitimate.net/images/bodies/lion.png"
},
{
"accrnym": "INN",
"name": "Institute For Non Profit News",
"description": "INN provides great stuff",
"profile_image_url": "https://legitimate.net/images/bodies/inn.png"
}
],
Unverified

This is an example of what could be displayed using the unverified response.
Examples in various languages
curl --location --request POST 'https://legitimate.net/api/verify_article?url=https://syncni.com/view/4879/are-tech-giants-doing-enough-to-combat-fake-news' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer Ak8fkrk9jf98kjr889:9XdkfkK9H7yy7g76ggTX'
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