Contribution & Proof Integrity Policy

Proudli is designed to show credible evidence of real professional work. Contributions should come from real people with a genuine connection to the relevant work, and factual claims should be supportable.

A genuine contribution comes from a real person who participated in, observed or had a relevant professional relationship with the transaction, project or engagement and who is expressing their own view. Proudli may ask the contributor to verify identity, role or involvement.

Fake identities or fake counterparties; self-testimonials disguised as customer testimony; paid or traded endorsements intended to manipulate results; duplicate Proof Stories; materially false transaction details; automated or coordinated account activity; undisclosed conflicts or material incentives; threats, pressure or retaliation designed to influence sentiment; and suppression of genuine evidence merely because it is negative.

Professionals may choose which genuine participants they invite. This means the evidence on a profile is not necessarily a statistically representative sample of every client or counterparty. Proudli may display evidence counts, verification levels and other context to help users interpret this limitation.

A Professional may pre-fill neutral factual information such as address, transaction date, project name or the Professional’s role. They must not write the contributor’s purported independent opinion, choose a star or sentiment result for them, or cause an unreviewed draft to be automatically published as the contributor’s own statement.

If Proudli permits an incentive for participation, it must not depend on the contribution being positive. A material incentive or relationship must be disclosed where required. Proudli may label or exclude incentivised material from particular calculations.

Proudli will not remove or hide a genuine contribution merely because it is negative, neutral, critical or inconvenient. Content may nevertheless be restricted or removed if it is fake, materially misleading, irrelevant, abusive, unlawful, rights-infringing, not based on genuine experience, or otherwise breaches the Terms or this Policy.

Proudli may use labels such as self-declared, identity confirmed, participant confirmed, role confirmed, transaction confirmed, third-party supported or independently verified. A label refers only to the specific verification represented; it is not an endorsement of the Professional or every statement within a Proof Story.

Possible review triggers include unusually rapid contribution activity, repeated device or network signals, duplicate transaction characteristics, repeated phrasing, improbable participant relationships, inconsistent dates or roles, circular endorsements, unusual point accumulation, undisclosed employment or family relationships, complaints, or discrepancies with third-party evidence.

Proudli may seek more evidence, delay publication, mark evidence unverified or disputed, exclude evidence from calculations, reverse improperly obtained points, remove duplicates, remove or restrict content, remove badges, recalculate a ranking, restrict an account, suspend an account or terminate serious/repeated offenders. Measures should be proportionate to available evidence and risk.

Proudli does not impose an automatic contractual fine merely because a contribution is rejected. Deliberate fraud or manipulation may, however, lead to removal of improperly obtained benefits and recovery of reasonable losses or enforcement costs where permitted by law and the Terms.

Users may report factual errors or ask for review using hello@proudli.com.au or www.proudli.com.au/contact. Proudli may request evidence. For significant permanent integrity action, Proudli should ordinarily provide a reasonable opportunity to respond unless immediate action is required for fraud, security, legal compliance or protection of users.

An integrity dispute is not always a defamation dispute. Complaints alleging defamatory content are handled under Proudli’s separate content and defamation process. A contribution will not be removed simply because the subject threatens legal action; the complaint will be assessed under the applicable process.

Proudli may update this Policy to address new abuse patterns, product features and legal requirements. Material changes will be published.