FAQ
Answers about MAP Verified™, pricing, the API, MAP Context™, the newsletter, and compliance — pulled directly from the same pages where each topic lives.
MAP Verified™ — Frequently Asked Questions
What is MAP Verified™?
MAP Verified™ evaluates a news URL or publisher across five independently-weighted signals — Context, Presentation, References, Visibility, and Comparison — and records the result on a hash-chained verification ledger. It is a structured, AI-assisted credibility indicator, not a guarantee of accuracy.
How is a MAP score calculated?
A MAP Score (0–100) is a weighted composite of five signals: Context (25%), References (25%), Presentation (20%), Visibility (15%), and Comparison (15%). Scores are computed by MAP's AWS Lambda infrastructure and are not manually adjusted by editorial staff.
Are MAP Verified™ scores a certified fact?
No. MAP Verified™ scores are generated with AI-assisted analysis and are probabilistic and informational in nature. They are not certified fact, a legal determination, or professional advice, and should not be the sole basis for a consequential decision.
How do I report an inaccurate score?
Report it through the contact form with the specific URL, the error, and supporting evidence. Reports are reviewed within 5 business days; if confirmed, a new ledger entry records the correction and the original entry is kept, not deleted. See the Corrections Policy for the full process.
What is the MAP Verification Ledger?
The MAP Verification Ledger is a SHA-256 hash-chained, append-only record of every verification event, stored on AWS DynamoDB and queryable via the API at /v1/ledger/stats. Because each entry is chained to the one before it, altering a past entry breaks the chain and is detectable.
Pricing — Frequently Asked Questions
What's included in the Free plan?
The Free plan costs $0 and requires no credit card. It includes 10 URL verifications per month, the full five-signal breakdown, a permanent ledger record, and access to the verification archive.
What does the Creator plan cost?
Creator is billed monthly, cancel anytime — see current pricing at checkout. It includes 50 URL verifications per month, REST API access, MAP Context™ signals, and MIQ Index access.
Is there an Enterprise plan?
Yes. Enterprise pricing is custom and volume-based — it includes unlimited or metered verifications, higher-volume API access with a rate-limit SLA, bulk verification, team seats, and a named account manager. Contact sales for a quote.
How do I get started?
Start on the Free plan by verifying a URL directly — no signup required. Pro and Enterprise access are currently arranged by contacting the team directly rather than through self-service checkout.
MAP API — Frequently Asked Questions
What are the MAP API rate limits?
Current server-enforced limits are: /verify — 10 requests per 60 seconds; /signal/{domain} — 30 requests per 60 seconds; /feed/signals — 20 requests per 60 seconds. Requests beyond these limits receive an HTTP 429 response.
Can I resell or redistribute MAP API data?
Raw API responses may not be resold, sublicensed, or redistributed as a standalone data product without a separate commercial data license. The one exception is MAP ledger data from /ledger/stats, which is published as open data under CC-BY 4.0.
Does the API guarantee accurate results?
No. The API and all data it returns are provided "as is" and "as available." Verification results and signal scores are AI-assisted, probabilistic, and informational — not certified fact, a legal determination, or professional advice — and MAP does not warrant continuous availability or accuracy.
What attribution is required when using MAP data?
If you publish or display MAP Verified™ scores, signal data, or MIQ Index data obtained through the API, you must attribute Media Alert Press LLC / MAP Verified™ as the source.
MAP Context™ — Frequently Asked Questions
What is MAP Context™?
MAP Context™ is a contextual intelligence layer that surfaces background, history, source relationships, narrative framing, and transparency signals around a story — structured information meant to help readers and researchers assess coverage, not an editorial verdict.
What are the five MAP Context™ modules?
Context Analysis (background and prior coverage), Media Context Reports (cross-outlet coverage mapping), Narrative Analysis (framing and headline-positioning signals), Source Context Reports (citation depth and sourcing quality), and Transparency Explanations (byline, disclosure, and AI-usage labeling explained in plain language).
Is MAP Context™ an editorial verdict?
No. MAP describes MAP Context™ as "not an editorial verdict engine" — it surfaces factual, structural signals so readers and platforms can assess content with more information, rather than issuing a true-or-false judgment.
MAP Newsletter — Frequently Asked Questions
What does the MAP Newsletter include?
Subscribers receive a weekly MAP Signal Report (Monday) summarizing publisher score movements, a weekly MIQ Index update (Wednesday), and event-driven alerts when MAP issues or revokes a significant verification.
How do I unsubscribe from the MAP Newsletter?
Every newsletter email includes an unsubscribe link. Subscribing is free, and MAP states it will not send spam.
Compliance — Frequently Asked Questions
Does MAP hold SOC 2 or ISO certification?
No. Media Alert Press LLC does not currently hold SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001, or ISO/IEC 42001 certification, and does not undergo annual third-party security audits at this time.
What security measures does MAP actually have in place?
Sitewide HTTPS/TLS, standard security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy), XML-RPC disabled, API rate limiting, and a least-privilege IAM policy for cloud infrastructure roles. Subprocessors used are AWS, Google Analytics, and Stripe.