Editorial Standards

These standards govern every reality check published on Income Reality Check. Readers can hold us to them; if we fall short, write to trisstann@gmail.com.

How a reality check is built

Every article starts with a specific YouTube video. We watch it end-to-end, transcribe the key claims (income amounts, time frames, methods), and then test each claim against authoritative sources before assigning a verdict.

Source tiers

Every factual claim is sourced. We work in tiers:

• Tier 1 (preferred): Government regulators and primary data — FTC, SEC, CFPB, IRS, BLS, SBA, FINRA, equivalent regulators abroad (FCA UK, ASIC Australia, SEBI India, ESMA EU).
• Tier 1 (preferred): Platform documentation when the article concerns that platform — Etsy Seller Handbook, Amazon Seller Central / KDP help, YouTube Creator Academy, Shopify Help Center, etc. Cited directly, not via secondhand summary.
• Tier 2 (acceptable): Major newswires and reputable institutions — Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg, CNBC, WSJ, FT, BBC, The Guardian, Kiplinger, NerdWallet, Investopedia, Morningstar.
• Not used: Anonymous blogs, content farms, course-seller blogs that double as recruitment funnels, partisan outlets without bylines, social media as a sole source, AI-generated content from other sites.

Three independent sources is the minimum bar to publish. Stories that cannot meet that bar are not published, even if they would draw traffic.

The verdict system

Every reality check ends with one of five verdicts:

• Mostly accurate, with one big caveat — the method works roughly as the video describes, but the article identifies a single, specific factor the video glosses over.
• Half-true — works only if you do the unspoken work — the income outcome is real for some, but the marketing, audience-building, sales, or capital the video skips is the actual job.
• Misleading — the headline number is real but unrepresentative — the dollar figure exists for a tiny minority of users; the median or typical outcome is vastly different and the video does not say so.
• Hype — the math doesn't survive a calculator — once platform fees, costs, taxes, and realistic conversion rates are applied, the income claim collapses.
• Outdated — the strategy worked but no longer does — the method was viable in a previous market cycle (algorithm rules, demand, regulation) but no longer reflects 2026 reality.

The verdict is an editorial opinion grounded in cited evidence. It is not a legal finding about the creator, and not a recommendation that any individual reader can or cannot succeed with the method.

Numbers, fees, and dates

Dollar amounts, fees, royalty rates, CPMs, and eligibility thresholds are verified against the platform's official page or the regulator's published data on the day the article is finalized. When a figure is reported by the creator but unverifiable, we say so explicitly rather than repeating it as fact.

Articles are dated by publication and updated when the underlying platform rules, fees, or regulations change.

YMYL topics

Income, investing, crypto, real estate, and tax topics sit in Google's "Your Money or Your Life" category. For these, we are stricter: we cite a government regulator wherever one exists (SEC for securities, FTC for endorsements and earnings claims, CFPB for consumer financial products, IRS for tax), we never present individualized advice, and every article includes an explicit "talk to a licensed professional" note where applicable.

Use of AI tools

We use AI tools to assist with transcript analysis, research, and drafting. Every article is grounded in independently verified primary sources; AI is used as a research and drafting aid, not as a source of truth. Articles that depend on a fact AI surfaced are not published unless the fact is also confirmed against an authoritative primary source.

This is disclosed in our disclaimer page.

Corrections and updates

If we publish something wrong, we correct it within 48 hours of confirming the correction is warranted. Corrections appear at the top of the affected article. Material changes also update the "last updated" date and trigger a new entry in our sitemap.

Independence and disclosures

Income Reality Check is reader-supported through display advertising and through affiliate links to legitimate platforms an article naturally references. We never link to (or earn commissions on) the courses, communities, or "masterminds" sold by a creator whose video we are reviewing — that's the kind of conflict the verdict system exists to surface.

We do not accept sponsored content, paid placement, paid links, or "guest posts" from PR agencies. Press releases inform our awareness of stories, never the writing.

Reader privacy

We collect the minimum analytics needed to operate and improve the site, and we describe what is collected on our privacy page. We do not sell reader data.