Methodology

Zera is an independent analytics platform. No brand pays for placement, no creator buys score boost, no coupon or sponsorship agreement influences how anyone is ranked. Every entity on the site — whether a creator on the leaderboard or a prop firm in a review — is analysed with the same framework applied identically. That's the super-partes rule and it is non-negotiable.

Zera publishes two distinct scores. They use different inputs and serve different questions — keep them separate:

Both scores are editorial research: they summarise public, observable signals. They are not rating-agency determinations and not investment advice. See the limits section below.

We combine signals across the following categories, each scored on the creator's observable public footprint:

Beyond the positive signals above, the score also considers behavioural flags — indicators that surface content not reflective of organic traction (e.g. engagement patterns inconsistent with account size, stale profiles, mismatches across platforms). These reduce the score where they appear, never increase it. We deliberately do not publish the exact weights, thresholds or detection heuristics: doing so would turn this page into a cheat-sheet for manipulation, which would harm every honest creator on the platform.

Prop firms, brokers and similar brands are scored on the same framework within their category (a futures prop firm is compared against other futures prop firms, not against forex brokers). The inputs we consider:

Each category is scored inside a category-aware band (so a forex prop firm isn't penalised for not offering futures). The final 0-10 is a composite that summarises the brand's position against peers — not an absolute "quality" claim about any individual trader's outcome.

All scoring inputs are drawn from public, observable signals. Concretely:

• Public profile and post data from the creator's stated platforms (Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok), fetched at a per-platform cadence.
• Brand-side public information: official website, documentation, legal filings where available, HQ and team disclosures.
• On-platform activity from creators who have claimed their profile on Zera (they explicitly opt in when they sign up).
• Aggregated market conversation — how brands are mentioned across tracked public content, analysed in aggregate, never as individual-attributable quotes in the score.

Publishing the full algorithm — every weight, every threshold, every anti-gaming heuristic — would make the score trivially manipulable. Creators with budget would optimise for the exact metrics we publish, brands with PR teams would game the qualitative inputs, and the whole signal would collapse into marketing. We've seen this happen to every "transparent" scoring system that goes open-formula.

Our commitment instead: methodology transparency, not formula transparency. We tell you what questions the score answers, what categories of signal we use, where the data comes from, and what the score explicitly doesn't claim. The exact composition stays proprietary so the signal stays honest.

Every score row internally records the algorithm version used. When we recalibrate we cut a new version — old scores are not silently recomputed. Admins and the entity being scored can always see which version produced a given number.

• Not a rating agency. Zera is not registered with the SEC, CFTC, FCA, ESMA, or any financial regulator. Our scores are editorial research and cannot substitute for licensed financial or legal advice.
• Not investment advice.Trading involves risk of loss. A high Zera Brand Score for a prop firm does not mean any individual trader will succeed with that firm, and a high Creator Score does not mean any creator's content predicts markets.
• Not a ROI guarantee. Creator sponsorship outcomes depend on creative fit, audience overlap, and campaign execution — factors outside the score. A high score is a necessary but not sufficient signal for brand-creator match.
• Behavioural, not forensic. Our detection of inorganic signal is behavioural inference on public data. A sophisticated adversary who buys balanced and patient manipulation can still pass our screen. We catch the common cases, not every case.

We take factual errors seriously. If a score or a brand review contains something you believe is wrong, here's the ladder:

1. Creators: open a review from your dashboard. Every score page links back to the input breakdown visible to you.
2. Brand owners:claim your review page (one-click from the banner on /reviews/<brand>) to add the official brand info panel, then email support with any factual corrections to the editorial review.
3. Media + researchers: reach the team directly — methodology reviews and audit requests are welcome.

Contact: support@zeracreators.com. We reply to factual-correction requests within 48 business hours.