Frequently asked questions

Groundtruth is a marketplace for first-hand, verified photos and videos of real-world places and assets. Customers post paid contracts for media they need captured; contributors ("reporters") go there in person, capture it, and earn USDC. Every submission carries capture attestation (location, authorship, and integrity signals) so you can trust what you're paying for.

Set a reward, draw a coverage area on the map, and pick a deadline, then describe what you want captured. The reward is escrowed on-chain the moment you post — held by the contract, not by us — so a reporter who delivers knows the money is already locked in and waiting.

Nothing is lost. If the deadline passes with no accepted submission, the contract expires and your full reward is refunded to your wallet. You can also cancel any time while the contract is still open and get refunded in full — there's no fee for posting a contract that goes unfilled.

A reporter submits their media to your contract, you review it, and when you accept, the escrowed reward is released to them automatically. To keep things fair to reporters, there's a claim window after they submit: if you don't accept or dispute within that window, the reporter can claim the payment themselves so a delivered job can't be left hanging forever.

Instead of accepting, you raise a dispute. An independent arbiter reviews both sides and issues a tentative ruling, which opens a 7-day appeal window; if someone appeals, the arbiter issues a final ruling. The reward goes to whichever side is right. If you win, you're refunded in full and the reporter's bond is slashed. If the reporter is right, they're paid and get their bond back.

When a reporter takes a contract they lock a refundable stake — 25% of the reward — as collateral. They get it back on any honest submission. It's only slashed if they submit fraud and then lose a dispute. That stake is what protects you: it gives every reporter real skin in the game, so bad submissions cost them money.

Starter jobs are platform-funded onboarding contracts with no reporter deposit, reserved for a brand-new verified reporter's very first contract. They let a newcomer with an empty wallet earn their first USDC and build reputation before graduating to normal bonded jobs. They're funded by the platform, not by customers.

Yes. Every file a reporter submits is encrypted end-to-end to you in the reporter's browser and uploaded already sealed — the platform never sees your media in the clear during normal use. The one exception is an escrow key held solely for trust & safety and moderation (for example, to review a disputed or reported submission), never for browsing your content.

A small platform fee is taken out of the reward on payout — the reporter receives the reward minus that fee. There's no charge to post a contract, and if a contract expires or you cancel it, you're refunded in full with no fee.