Reality Index methodology
Explainable by design.
The V stands for value and verification. We examine what an opportunity is realistically worth after time, costs, availability, difficulty, and risk—and distinguish evidence from promotion.
Version reality-index-v1. A V Score is a deterministic output from approved records. No opaque AI model assigns legitimacy, earnings, risk, or rank.
Overall score
Each normalized component is multiplied by its configured weight; products are summed and rounded. Components with no approved evidence contribute zero. V Score and confidence are always separate.
Evidence strength and recency
Time-sensitive evidence receives 100% weight at 0–30 days, 80% at 31–90, 50% at 91–180, 20% at 181–365, and 0% after one year. Stable primary facts do not decay.
Single-report influence cap
One evidence record may supply at most 25% of uncapped component weight.
Confidence
Confidence is calculated separately using eligible record count, verified count, source diversity, and recency.
Neutrality and interpretation
Companies cannot buy a higher V Score or a better position in the Reality Index. Affiliate and sponsorship fields have zero scoring influence. Advertised compensation is not typical earnings. A low V Score is not a fraud finding.
Snapshots and movement
Published score and ranking snapshots are immutable. Movement compares the latest approved ranking with its preceding snapshot.