Legitimate Universal Bio API

Version 1.0

This API allows users to verify articles and domains; extracting information about them. The main endpoint is:

  1. '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. 

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Verify Article

POST https://www.legitimate.io/api/verify_article

Query Parameters

NameTypeDescription

url

string

The url of the article or post you wish to verify

Headers

NameTypeDescription

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:

Field NameDescriptionExampleType

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:

Field NameDescriptionExampleType

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

https://legitimate.net//assets/legitimate-logo-small.png

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:

Field NameDescriptionExampleType

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

http://legitimate.net/images/publications/advocatemag.png

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:

Field NameDescriptionExampleType

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

https://legitimate.net/images/bodies/lion.png

string (URL)

For the nested registration_data object within domain_info, the table is as follows:

Field NameDescriptionExampleType

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:

  1. Article Verified: The article and author are verified.

  2. 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).

  3. Domain Verified: The article is not verified but we can verify the domain and provide domain information.

  4. 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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