MANA-Vox methodology for the selection of credible
sources
MANA-Vox unveils environmental damage caused by companies thanks to a network ofsources of information and an algorithm. These sources are mostly located in areas at risk to
be protected as priorities. Initially, MANA-Vox's methodology was developed to assess theimpact of companies on forests. However, the methodology is now ready to be replicatedfor other environmental issues such as freshwater, oceans, biodiversity, and climate change.

Credible Sources
Within the MANA community, a credible source refers to an organization or individualcapable of providing credible information about a company's environmental impacts. Themethodology relies on establishing that one or more of the three closest NGOs to the MANA
community—WWF, Greenpeace, and Friends of the Earth—trust the source.

Our network of whistle-blowers
The methodology for selecting credible sources, or "credibilizing" sources, is based on theprinciple that WWF, Greenpeace, and Friends of the Earth are reputable sources ofinformation. These three well-established organizations are referred to as the "FriendlyNGOs" within the MANA community. Individuals or non-profit organizations affiliated withany of these three NGOs are also considered credible sources of information. The sources
associated with any of our Friendly NGOs form what we refer to as our "NGOs network."
These sources may identify other credible individuals or non-profit organizations, referred toas "Whistle-blowers" our jargon. All these sources may contribute information that can bepresented on MANA-Vox.

The selection of information sources can be done either manually or through the algorithm.

Manual Selection of Credible Sources
Friendly NGOs are requested to recommend entities or individuals as credible sources.
Friendly NGOs are tagged as Level 1, while the sources they recommend are tagged as Level
2. These Level 2 organisations or individuals can also recommend sources, which are thencategorized as Level 3. Level 3 entities or individuals cannot further recommend additionalsources. This means that any source can be no more than 2 levels away from a Friendly NGO.
Level 3 sources may also be considered credible if they have a partnership with Level 1 orLevel 2 sources and have received public funding.

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Foundations, both private and public, that provide funding to a Level 1 NGO can beconsidered credible if they are also deemed credible by the MANA Community professional
responsible for assessing source credibility.

Algorithmic Selection of Credible Sources
The MANA-Vox algorithm scrapes the Twitter accounts of Friendly NGOs to identify
individuals or organizations cited as information sources. It is assumed that when a Friendly
NGO cites a source, it is endorsing the information provided by that source.
To be considered as a potential candidate source, a source must be cited three times by a
Friendly NGO. Each potential source is then manually reviewed to determine their country oforigin and whether that country is located in a region considered to be of high priority to fightagainst forest destruction.

A source is considered credible if it has been the origin of news at least ten times and has been
cited by at least two Friendly NGOs. Once a source is geolocated, it waits for two reference
NGOs to endorse its information before being considered credible.

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