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You can update author information to improve trust scoring and fraud detection in your moderation system. Author updates can be made through either the API or the dashboard interface.

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Author Creation

Authors are automatically created when an author_id is included in submit content requests. However, you can also manually create authors using the API before submitting content. We recommend adding detailed author information using the update endpoint after automatic creation, or creating authors ahead of time with complete details to improve initial trust scoring accuracy.

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Prerequisites

  • Dashboard: You need the moderator role for your project
  • API: Any valid API key for the project

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Available Fields

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Basic Information

These fields are displayed in the dashboard for easier author management:
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name
string
The author’s display name
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email
string
Author’s email address
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profile_picture
string
URL to the author’s profile image
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external_link
string
URL to the author’s profile on your platform or other external resources. Will add a clickable link in the dashboard.

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Metadata

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metadata
object
A flexible JSON object that can store any additional author information
  • Limits: Maximum 25 keys with 1 level of nesting
  • Usage: Included in webhooks and author API responses
  • Purpose: Store custom data relevant to your use case
Example
{
  "metadata": {
    "account_type": "premium",
    "signup_source": "mobile_app",
    "custom_tags": ["verified_creator", "high_engagement"],
    "preferences": {
      "notifications": true,
      "public_profile": false
    }
  }
}

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Built-in Metadata Fields

These special metadata fields are used for trust levels and fraud detection, and are rendered in the dashboard:
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email_verified
boolean
Boolean indicating if email is verified
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phone_verified
boolean
Boolean indicating if phone number is verified
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identity_verified
boolean
Boolean indicating if identity has been verified
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is_paying_customer
boolean
Boolean indicating if the user is a paying customer
Built-in metadata example
{
  "metadata": {
    "email_verified": true,
    "phone_verified": false,
    "identity_verified": true,
    "is_paying_customer": true
  }
}

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Trust Level Override

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manual_trust_level
number
Override automatic trust level calculations for this author
  • Range: -1 to 4, or null to reset to automatic calculation
  • Use cases: Permanently promote or demote specific users
  • Reset: Set to null to return to automatic trust level calculation
  • Impact: Affects moderation decisions and user permissions
Learn more about trust levels and how they work in our Trust Levels Article.

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Timestamps

These timestamp fields help with trust scoring and fraud detection:
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first_seen
number
When the author was first encountered in your system (timestamp in milliseconds)
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last_seen
number
The author’s most recent activity timestamp (timestamp in milliseconds)
Both fields accept timestamp format and contribute to the automatic trust level calculation.

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Making Updates

  • API
  • Dashboard
Use the PUT /authors/ endpoint to programmatically update author information. If you need to create a new author, use the POST /authors/ endpoint.Here’s a complete example of updating an author with all available fields:
{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john.doe@example.com",
  "profile_picture": "https://example.com/avatars/johndoe.jpg",
  "external_link": "https://myplatform.com/users/johndoe",
  "metadata": {
    "email_verified": true,
    "phone_verified": true,
    "identity_verified": false,
    "is_paying_customer": true,
    "account_type": "premium",
    "signup_source": "mobile_app",
    "preferences": {
      "notifications": true
    }
  },
  "manual_trust_level": 3,
  "first_seen": 1577836800000,
  "last_seen": 1672531200000
}