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.

API credentials

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

Name	Type	Description
url	string	The url of the article or post you wish to verify

Headers

Name	Type	Description
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 Name	Description	Example	Type
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 Name	Description	Example	Type
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 Name	Description	Example	Type
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 Name	Description	Example	Type
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 Name	Description	Example	Type
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.

Article Verified

{
    "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"
        }
}

Domain Verified Plus

{
    "verified": true,
    "type": "Domain Verified Plus",
    "domain": "politico.com",
    "similar_article_count": 312,
    "similar_profile_count": 23,
    "similar_articles": [
        {
            "id": 1371846,
            "title": "Judge scolds Jack Smith’s team for causing delay in unrelated Jan. 6 verdict",
            "link": "https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/20/trump-grand-jury-witness-executive-privilege-00107442",
            "og_image": "https://static.politico.com/f9/a7/d599538f48a4b22c2df24c6b6b29/trump-classified-documents-96524.jpg",
            "icon_path": "https://legitimate.net/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBaUNuIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--1838f2e3bf112de00dbdd41e946b502ef8665338/politico.png",
            "published_at": "2023-07-20T19:29:57.000Z"
        },
        {
            "id": 1371848,
            "title": "Judge rejects QAnon shaman’s bid to throw out Jan. 6 sentence",
            "link": "https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/20/judge-rejects-qanon-shamans-bid-to-throw-out-jan-6-sentence-00107370",
            "og_image": "https://static.politico.com/1d/31/e55b1cc84020b8ecd42d22c0f6ad/capitol-breach-apologies-20816.jpg",
            "icon_path": "https://legitimate.net/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBaUNuIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--1838f2e3bf112de00dbdd41e946b502ef8665338/politico.png",
            "published_at": "2023-07-20T16:29:53.000Z"
        },
        {
            "id": 1372224,
            "title": "Biden’s legacy long game: Rain regulations — now",
            "link": "https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/20/biden-agencies-protect-rules-trump-00158732",
            "og_image": "https://static.politico.com/7c/31/7c6f37bc46e2a91d4a80de2d4858/useuntil06-08-2024-020.jpg",
            "icon_path": "https://static.politico.com/cf/05/ee684a274496b04fa20ba2978da1/politico.png",
            "published_at": "2024-05-21T05:00:00.000Z"
        }
    ],
    "similar_profiles": [
        {
            "id": 1648,
            "slug": "kyle-cheney",
            "first_name": "Kyle",
            "last_name": "Cheney",
            "job_title": "Reporter",
            "employer": "Politico",
            "profile_image_url": "https://legitimate.net/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBamluIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--2f99b4422228de8a9aec2c8c6b6d47d09accf4ae/KyleCheney.jpg"
        },
        {
            "id": 2822,
            "slug": "gerard-donnelly-08f69bd9-5f84-48a8-b286-081b2a216367",
            "first_name": "Gerard",
            "last_name": "Donnelly",
            "job_title": "",
            "employer": "",
            "profile_image_url": "https://legitimate.net/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBMUNNQ2c9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--29ce246b7d7b92f08d0b213ec1db6cf9e2f71b8f/dna.jpeg"
        }
    ],
    "domain_info": {
        "publication_name": "Politico",
        "domain": "politico.com",
        "description": "Politico offers current news, analysis, and coverage of politics, policy, and national affairs, focusing on the United States and international events.",
        "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",
        "state": "Virginia",
        "logo_path": null,
        "registration_data": {
            "registrant_name": "PERFECT PRIVACY, LLC",
            "registrant_country": "UNITED STATES",
            "registrar_company": "Register.com, Inc.",
            "domain_created": "1998-09-18",
            "domain_updated": "2021-11-11"
        }
    }
}

Domain Verified

{
    "verified": true,
    "type": "Domain Verified",
    "domain": "70and73.com",
    "domain_info": {
        "publication_name": "70and73.com",
        "domain": "70and73.com",
        "description": "A current events newspaper focused on recent happenings, trends, and insights, offering articles, analyses, and opinions on various topics to keep readers informed and engaged.",
        "year_founded": 2019,
        "domain_age": null,
        "bodies_associations": [
            {
                "accrnym": "LION",
                "name": "Local Independent Online Media",
                "description": "LION Publishers supports local independent online news organizations, offering resources like education, funding and sustainability audits to help news entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses.",
                "profile_image_url": "https://legitimate.net/images/bodies/lion.png"
            }
        ],
        "publisher": "Ewald Technology LLC",
        "publisher_description": "A New Jersey privately owned small business based in Marlton",
        "country": "USA",
        "city": "Marlton",
        "phone": null,
        "state": "NJ",
        "logo_path": "http://legitimate.net/images/publications/70and73.com.png",
        "registration_data": {
            "registrant_name": "REDACTED FOR PRIVACY",
            "registrant_country": "UNITED STATES",
            "registrar_company": "TUCOWS, INC.",
            "domain_created": "2017-08-27",
            "domain_updated": "2023-07-31"
        }
    }
}

Unverified

{
    "verified": false,
    "type": "Unverified",
    "domain": "digitaliron.com",
    "message": "Publication not recognized.",
    "fact1": "None of the more than 13 thousand journalists on Legitimate have written for this website.",
    "fact2": "If you are unfamiliar with this publication, read it with caution and carry out additional research.",
    "article_title": "Boost Your Dealership's After-Sales Revenue",
    "registrant_name": "REDACTED FOR PRIVACY",
    "registrant_country": "UNITED KINGDOM",
    "registrar_name": "Squarespace Domains LLC",
    "domain_created": "2015-08-10T15:06:05Z",
    "domain_updated": "2024-04-12T13:00:39.401981Z"
}

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

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'

Javascript

var myHeaders = new Headers();
myHeaders.append("Authorization", "Bearer Ak8fkrk9jf98kjr889:9XdkfkK9H7yy7g76ggTX");

var formdata = new FormData();

var requestOptions = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: myHeaders,
  body: formdata,
  redirect: 'follow'
};

fetch("https://legitimate.net/api/verify_article?url=https://syncni.com/view/4879/are-tech-giants-doing-enough-to-combat-fake-news", requestOptions)
  .then(response => response.text())
  .then(result => console.log(result))
  .catch(error => console.log('error', error));

PHP

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, array(
  CURLOPT_URL => 'https://legitimate.net/api/verify_article?url=https://syncni.com/view/4879/are-tech-giants-doing-enough-to-combat-fake-news',
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => '',
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 0,
  CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION => true,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => 'POST',
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => array(
    'Authorization: Bearer Ak8fkrk9jf98kjr889:9XdkfkK9H7yy7g76ggTX'
  ),
));

$response = curl_exec($curl);

curl_close($curl);
echo $response;

Python - http.client

import http.client
import mimetypes
from codecs import encode

conn = http.client.HTTPSConnection("legitimate.net")
boundary = ''
payload = ''
headers = {
  'Authorization': 'Bearer Ak8fkrk9jf98kjr889:9XdkfkK9H7yy7g76ggTX',
  'Content-type': 'multipart/form-data; boundary={}'.format(boundary)
}
conn.request("POST", "/api/verify_article?url=https://syncni.com/view/4879/are-tech-giants-doing-enough-to-combat-fake-news", payload, headers)
res = conn.getresponse()
data = res.read()
print(data.decode("utf-8"))

Ruby

require "uri"
require "net/http"

url = URI("https://legitimate.net/api/verify_article?url=https://syncni.com/view/4879/are-tech-giants-doing-enough-to-combat-fake-news")

https = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
https.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = "Bearer Ak8fkrk9jf98kjr889:9XdkfkK9H7yy7g76ggTX"
form_data = []
request.set_form form_data, 'multipart/form-data'
response = https.request(request)
puts response.read_body

Java - OKHttp

OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient().newBuilder()
  .build();
MediaType mediaType = MediaType.parse("text/plain");
MediaType JSON = MediaType.parse("application/json; charset=utf-8");
RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(JSON, "{}");
Request request = new Request.Builder()
  .url("https://legitimate.net/api/verify_article?url=https://syncni.com/view/4879/are-tech-giants-doing-enough-to-combat-fake-news")
  .method("POST", body)
  .addHeader("Authorization", "Bearer Ak8fkrk9jf98kjr889:9XdkfkK9H7yy7g76ggTX")
  .build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();