Xivogo Trust Protocol

XTP rulebook

What XTP rates – and what it does not

XTP stands for Xivogo Trust Protocol. It is the fixed rule set Xivogo uses to rate how strongly current evidence supports a story – and whether it is officially contradicted.

XTP does not rate how likely a transfer is. It does not score journalists with secret numbers, percentages or AI opinions.

Trust Level and Story State are separate dimensions. A story can be well supported and still officially denied.

The same active inputs produce the same rating. Decisions follow fixed rules in the XTP engine.

A high Trust Level does not automatically mean a move is official. A reporter’s “here we go” is not a club announcement.

The rulebook

Four clear Trust Levels

Every rating follows fixed rules. No stars, made-up numbers or hidden factors.

Unconfirmed

The available evidence is not strong enough for a higher rating yet.

XTP-TRUST-1

Credible source

At least one strong source supports the story.

XTP-TRUST-2

Multiple reports

At least two strong, publisher-independent evidence groups support the same current story core. Two links are not automatically two sources; reporters from the same publisher do not count twice; different report stages do not confirm each other.

XTP-TRUST-3

✓

Officially confirmed

An authorised official source has confirmed the move.

XTP-TRUST-4

Trust Level

Four Trust Levels in detail

Trust Level describes how strongly active evidence supports the story core. Evidence groups are formed for counting: same publisher, shared origin or explicit citation do not count twice.

XTP-TRUST-1

Unconfirmed

Current evidence is not strong enough for a higher rating.

Everyday: No strong evidence group supports the story. Weaker source classes (C, D, E) alone cannot reach TRUST-2.
Typical: Early rumours, indirect reports, aggregators without their own primary information, unclear attributions or only weak source classes.
Example: A regional Transfermarkt channel reports early interest citing a journalist – class C, with no second strong source.
Boundary: Boundary to TRUST-2: as soon as at least one active source with sourceClass A2 or B supports the story (supportsStory: true), the rating rises.

XTP-TRUST-2

Credible source

At least one strong evidence group supports the story.

Everyday: At least one strong source (A2 or B; A1 counts as strong but triggers TRUST-4 on official confirmation) supports the current core with supportsStory: true.
Typical: An established reporter’s “here we go”, a strong primary source or a single independent media group – without a second independent strong confirmation.
Example: Fabrizio Romano reports a full agreement (B, supportsStory: true). No second publisher-independent strong source confirms the same status → TRUST-2, not official.
Boundary: Boundary to TRUST-3: a second strong, publisher-independent evidence group with supportsStory: true is missing.

XTP-TRUST-3

Multiple reports

At least two strong, publisher-independent evidence groups support the story.

Everyday: At least two separate strong root groups (A2/B) support the story. There is no fixed link count – independent publisher clusters decide.
Typical: Two different media houses with their own primary information on the same essential status.
Example: Source A (Publisher X, B): talks ongoing. Source B (Publisher Y, B): full agreement. For the core “agreement reached”, only B counts as strong support → TRUST-2, not TRUST-3. Both sources can stay visible; the earlier one is editorially class C.
Boundary: Boundary to TRUST-4: TRUST-3 remains media evidence. Only an authorised official confirmation (A1 with TRANSFER_CONFIRMED or AGREEMENT_CONFIRMED) raises to TRUST-4.

XTP-TRUST-4

Officially confirmed

An authorised official actor has confirmed the move.

Everyday: The chronologically latest controlling official statement is a confirmation: A1 with supportsStory: true and officialStatementType TRANSFER_CONFIRMED or AGREEMENT_CONFIRMED.
Typical: Verified club account, official club website or another authorised official actor in the system with the matching statement type.
Example: Juventus publish “player signed” (A1, TRANSFER_CONFIRMED) → TRUST-4. Romano “here we go” alone → at most TRUST-2.
Boundary: NEGOTIATIONS_CONFIRMED alone does not reach TRUST-4. Fan accounts, aggregators or kit photos without an authorised official channel are not official confirmation.

Sources

How Xivogo classifies sources

Each source has a sourceClass (A1–E). A1, A2 and B count as strong for Trust. C, D and E alone cannot reach TRUST-2.

Publisher, journalist, official actor and fan account are distinct. Class depends on the contribution and editorial assignment – not reach alone.

A1

Official source

Meaning: Authorised official actor with official statement type.
Examples: Account club, federazione, sito ufficiale registrato nel sistema.
Strong evidence?: Sì – e con conferma controlla il Trust (TRUST-4).
Limits: Richiede officialStatementType e polarità supportsStory secondo le regole.
Trust effect: Conferma → TRUST-4; solo negoziati confermati → non TRUST-4.

A2

Very strong primary

Meaning: Media source with very direct primary information.
Examples: Esclusiva verificata – classificata redazionalmente come A2.
Strong evidence?: Sì.
Limits: Una sola A2 basta per TRUST-2; per TRUST-3 serve indipendenza.
Trust effect: Può attivare TRUST-2; conta nei cluster indipendenti per TRUST-3.

B

Direct standalone report

Meaning: Standard for credible publisher reporting.
Examples: Post autonomo del reporter, notizia diretta.
Strong evidence?: Sì.
Limits: Più autori dello stesso publisher (stessa publisherId) = un cluster.
Trust effect: Tipico per TRUST-2; due cluster B indipendenti → TRUST-3.

C

Further media report

Meaning: Media piece without primary status.
Examples: Aggregatore, nota di follow-up.
Strong evidence?: No.
Limits: Visibile nel cronologico ma non gruppo forte.
Trust effect: Da sola → TRUST-1; utile per fasi precedenti.

D

Reposted report

Meaning: Information clearly taken from elsewhere.
Examples: «Secondo …» senza conferma propria.
Strong evidence?: No.
Limits: Nessuna indipendenza automatica.
Trust effect: Da sola → TRUST-1.

E

Unclear origin

Meaning: Origin or primary character unclear.
Examples: Account non verificati.
Strong evidence?: No.
Limits: Da precisare redazionalmente.
Trust effect: Da sola → TRUST-1.

Independence

Evidence groups and publisher clusters

Multiple reports may share the same information line. XTP merges them into clusters – they must not count as independent confirmations.

Same publisherId → one cluster.
Same sharedOriginKey → one cluster.
citesEvidenceIds → explicit link to cited evidence.
Only A1, A2, B form strong roots for TRUST-2/3.

When are sources independent?

Fabrizio Romano (Publisher A) + independent Sky report (Publisher B) on the same status → two clusters possible.
Patrick Berger + Florian Plettenberg under the same sky-sport-de publisher → one cluster, not double.
Two links from the same X account → one publisher, not two confirmations.
Aggregator quoting without own primary info → often C/D, no new strong group.
Official club statement (A1) is official evidence – not just another media cluster.

Timeline

How a transfer story develops

Stories often move through stages. XTP has no separate system stage fields – staging is editorial.

The stages below are editorial examples, not automatic engine values.

Interest / soundingEarly interest, no talks yet.
Contact / talksOngoing talks – no agreement.
Verbal / personal agreementIntermediate step, often without club.
Full agreement / Here we goMedia report – not official yet.
Official confirmationAuthorised official actor.
Denial / collapse / updateState may change.

A report can describe an advanced stage and still remain TRUST-2 without official confirmation.

Source history

Keeping the timeline visible

Correct existing sources generally remain in place.
New status reports are added – not by removing earlier correct sources.
Earlier sources stay visible as timeline sources.
They only support the report stage they actually describe – not automatically a later, stronger story core.
Sources must not be removed, deactivated or soft-deleted solely to change Trust Level.
Real duplicates, wrong assignments or invalid evidence are documented exceptions – with reason, audit and traceable correction.
The XTP engine technically evaluates only active evidence; editorial source history must be maintained without information loss.

Example: talks, then agreement

Source A reports talks (visible, e.g. C or B for the talks stage).
Source B later reports here we go / agreement (B, supportsStory: true).
Both remain visible in chronological evidence.
Only Source B supports the core “agreement reached” as a strong group.
A second independent strong source on the same agreement status → TRUST-3.

The XTP engine evaluates only active evidence. Editorially a timeline source may be class C to stay visible without spurious TRUST-3 – supportsStory: false remains contradiction, not “earlier stage”.

Story State

Story State – separate from Trust Level

Trust Level = strength of supporting evidence. Story State = whether the story is officially or strongly contradicted. Both are calculated independently.

ActiveOfficially contradictedStrongly contradicted

XTP-STATE-1

Active — No sufficiently strong contradiction (default). No official denial and no two independent strong contradiction clusters.

XTP-STATE-2

Officially contradicted — Chronologically latest controlling official statement: DENIAL (A1, supportsStory: false). An authorised official actor contradicts the story. Trust can remain high in parallel (e.g. TRUST-3 + STATE-2).

XTP-STATE-3

Strongly contradicted — At least two strong, publisher-independent evidence groups with supportsStory: false. Major media contradiction without official denial as latest control.

XTP-STATE-4

Tactical denial recorded — TACTICAL_DENIAL (A1, supportsStory: false) as latest official statement. Recorded but Story State stays Active – not OFFICIALLY_CONTRADICTED.

What is a tactical denial?

An official statement with type TACTICAL_DENIAL. XTP records it (XTP-STATE-4) but keeps Story State Active. It does not replace editorial assessment.

Well supported and officially contradicted

Possible: TRUST-3 from media evidence and OFFICIALLY_CONTRADICTED from a later official denial. OFFICIAL (TRUST-4) and OFFICIALLY_CONTRADICTED are mutually exclusive.

Examples

Short examples from engine logic

Early interest, weak source

Sources: One C source, supportsStory: true.
Trust: UNCONFIRMED (XTP-TRUST-1)
Story State: ACTIVE (XTP-STATE-1)
Why: No strong evidence group (C is not a strong class).

Ongoing talks, strong media source

Sources: One reporter B, supportsStory: true.
Trust: CREDIBLE_SOURCE (XTP-TRUST-2)
Story State: ACTIVE
Why: At least one strong group supports the story.

Two reporters from the same publisher

Sources: Two B sources, same publisherId.
Trust: CREDIBLE_SOURCE
Story State: ACTIVE
Why: One publisher cluster – not two independent groups.

Two independent publishers, same status

Sources: Two B sources, publisher-a and publisher-b.
Trust: MULTIPLE_INDEPENDENT (XTP-TRUST-3)
Story State: ACTIVE
Why: Two strong, publisher-independent root groups.

Here we go without club announcement

Sources: Romano B, supportsStory: true; no A1 confirmer.
Trust: CREDIBLE_SOURCE
Story State: ACTIVE
Why: Strong media source, but no official confirmation.

Official signing

Sources: A1 TRANSFER_CONFIRMED, supportsStory: true.
Trust: OFFICIAL (XTP-TRUST-4)
Story State: ACTIVE
Why: Authorised official confirmation.

Multiple reports, then official denial

Sources: Two B clusters support; later A1 DENIAL (latest).
Trust: MULTIPLE_INDEPENDENT
Story State: OFFICIALLY_CONTRADICTED (XTP-STATE-2)
Why: Media trust remains; latest official statement contradicts.

Talks plus later agreement

Sources: Schira timeline C visible; Romano B on agreement.
Trust: CREDIBLE_SOURCE
Story State: ACTIVE
Why: Only Romano as strong group for agreement; timeline stays visible.

FAQ

Common misunderstandings

Is “here we go” official?: No. At most strong media evidence (typically TRUST-2) until an authorised official actor confirms.
How many links for “Multiple reports”?: Not a link count. You need at least two strong, publisher-independent evidence groups with supportsStory: true.
Do two reporters from the same outlet count twice?: No – with the same publisherId they form one cluster.
Does an aggregator count as an independent source?: Not automatically. Often C or D – without own strong primary information, no second cluster.
Why does an old source stay visible?: It documents the timeline. Removal is only for real duplicates or verified errors – with audit.
Can TRUST-3 still be wrong?: Yes. TRUST-3 only means matching strong media evidence – not a guarantee of truth.
Can an official confirmation be corrected?: Yes. Later official statements can replace earlier ones (chronologically latest controlling statement counts).
Trust Level vs. Story State?: Trust = strength of support. State = contradiction. Independent – e.g. TRUST-3 + officially contradicted.
Does “Unconfirmed” mean the report is made up?: No. A strong evidence group for higher trust levels is simply missing.
Why no percentages?: XTP deliberately uses fixed rules and four trust levels – without hidden scores.

Implementation note

This page describes the production XTP engine. Stages and source history curation are editorial; the engine evaluates all active evidence by the rules above.