Methodology
This page explains how an entry ends up on FakeInternships.page, how we decide its status and severity, and what happens when a company disagrees.
How we verify
We verify before we publish severity or status changes
A single anonymous report is enough to create an entry, but it starts at 'unverified.' Status only moves to 'confirmed' once we have corroborating reports, matching documentation, or both.
Evidence stays attached, not summarized away
Wherever reporters share documentation — offer letters, payment requests, job postings — we preserve it alongside the entry so readers can judge it themselves, not just our summary of it.
Every company has a right of response
Companies can dispute an entry's characterization at any time, and that response is published, not suppressed. If a dispute changes our understanding, the entry is corrected.
Resolution is possible and is shown, not hidden
Companies that make things right through our /wearesorry process get that reflected prominently — the record shows remediation the same way it shows the original complaint.
Status labels
- Unverified
- A single report has been received. We have not yet corroborated it against other reporters or documentary evidence.
- Confirmed
- Corroborated by multiple independent reporters, documentary evidence, or both.
- Disputed
- The company has responded and contests some or all of the reporting. Their response is reflected in the entry.
- Resolved
- The company completed our /wearesorry process — remediation was confirmed and the record reflects it.
Severity scale
- Low severity
- An isolated complaint, often about communication or process rather than pay or safety.
- Medium severity
- A clear pattern affecting compensation or working conditions, contained to a handful of reporters.
- High severity
- Wage theft, deceptive listings, or unsafe conditions affecting a meaningful number of reporters.
- Critical
- Financial fraud, identity theft, or scale — dozens of reporters describing an identical scheme.
What this site isn’t
- Not legal advice. Nothing here is a legal determination of wrongdoing — entries reflect reports and evidence, not court findings.
- Not exhaustive. The absence of a company from this database is not an endorsement — it usually just means no one has reported it to us yet.
- Not static. Statuses change as new reports, evidence, or company responses come in. Check an entry’s timeline for its full history.
- This build is a demo. The current version of FakeInternships.page runs on illustrative sample data rather than live reports.