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Conflicts & Disclosures

Trust requires more than avoiding conflicts. It requires making relevant relationships visible.

What counts as a conflict

Relevant conflicts may include ownership, employment, close personal or family relationships, meaningful financial relationships, prior collaboration, or circumstances that a reasonable reader would want to know when evaluating the review.

Owner-connected books

  1. The owner cannot review the book.
  2. Another qualified reviewer must be assigned.
  3. That reviewer retains control over the analysis, rating, criticisms, and conclusion.
  4. The review displays a prominent, specific disclosure.
Suggested form:

Editorial Disclosure: The author of this book has an ownership relationship with ReadVerdict. This review was independently written and evaluated by [Reviewer Name], who retained editorial control over its analysis, rating, and conclusion.

The word “independently” is never used to conceal ownership. The relationship and the reviewer’s control are both explained.