Researching Trust in the Digital Age
An open research project exploring practical trust signals — how to evaluate businesses, spot scams, and verify who keeps their word.
The trust signals we study
Each signal is researched for its reliability and weight.
Verifiable commitments
High weight
Public track record
High weight
Transparent ownership
Medium weight
Consistent communication
Medium weight
Third-party corroboration
High weight
Review authenticity
Medium weight
Research areas
How to evaluate a business
A practical checklist for reading the signals a company sends — and the ones it hides.
Contract checklists
Plain-English review templates for freelancers, vendors, and partnerships.
Scam reports
Documented patterns of online fraud, with the tells that expose them.
Due diligence guides
Step-by-step due diligence for hiring, investing, and partnering.
AI fraud detection
How to spot AI-generated identities, reviews, and content.
Reputation research
What reviews actually measure — and what they miss.
Verification methods
Open methods for verifying claims, credentials, and commitments.
Trust scoring (research)
An open exploration of how a practical trust score could work.
Try it: a quick trust checklist
Tick what you can verify about a business or person you're evaluating.
0/6 signals verified — low — proceed with caution
Trust is a pillar of coherence. Useful here, connected to something larger at the Coherence Hub.
See how TrustAtlas connects to the Coherence Hub