Negative Media Screening

Retrieve the latest negative media screening result for a verification entity or a specific stakeholder. Negative media screening searches the public web for adverse press about an individual or entity (and, for KYB verifications, each stakeholder), and uses bronID's summarization layer to flag articles that describe negative findings.

Overview

When screening completes, a webhook is sent with the updated idvRisk and a screening.negativeMedia summary. Use the endpoints below to retrieve full screening details including matched articles.

These read-only endpoints return the most recent screening result, including:

Findings — overall flag and count of articles flagged as negative
Articles — the search results bronID resolved, each with a per-article summary and isNegative flag

Three endpoints are available — two for retrieving the latest screening result, and one for triggering a new screening run on demand:

GET /v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media/latest - Get entity screening result
GET /v5/verifications/:trace/stakeholders/:stakeholderId/negative-media/latest - Get stakeholder screening result
POST /v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media - Trigger a new screening run

Negative media is opt-in per service. It runs automatically when a verification reaches verified status only if runNegativeMediaScreeningOnVerification is enabled in the service's screening configuration. Manual rescreens via this endpoint always run regardless of the flag.

GET/v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media/latest

Get entity screening

Retrieve the latest negative media screening result for the verification entity.

Path parameters

Name
trace
Type
string
Description
The unique identifier for the verification.

Response fields

Field	Type	Description
`screeningId`	string	Unique identifier for the screening run.
`trace`	string	The verification trace.
`totalArticles`	number	Total number of articles returned by the upstream search.
`findingCount`	number	Count of articles flagged as negative by bronID's summarization layer.
`hasFindings`	boolean	Convenience flag — `true` when `findingCount > 0`.
`isNegative`	boolean	Overall negative flag — `true` if any article in `articles` is negative.
`summary`	string	Overall summary across all articles.
`articles`	array	The articles returned and analyzed. See Articles.
`triggeredByAction`	string	What triggered the screening: `"on-verified"`, `"manual-api"`, `"manual-portal"`, or `"scheduled"`.
`triggeredByUid`	string	UID of the user who triggered the screening (optional, present on manual triggers).
`triggeredByEmail`	string	Email of the user who triggered the screening (optional, present on manual triggers).
`screenedAt`	number	Unix timestamp of when the screening was performed (milliseconds).
`screenedTime`	string	Human-readable screening time.
`createdAt`	number	Unix timestamp of when the record was created (milliseconds).
`createdTime`	string	Human-readable creation time.

Error responses

Status Code	Error Type	Description
404	`not_found`	No negative media screening exists for this verification.

Request

GET

/v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media/latest

curl -X GET "https://api.bronid.com/v5/verifications/{trace}/negative-media/latest" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic {credentials}"

Response

{
  "timestamp": "2026-02-28T04:00:00.000Z",
  "serviceUid": "5qA5Hq0n1JQTY2TASItxYXSRyND3",
  "trace": "abc123-verification-trace",
  "path": "/v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media/latest",
  "pathParams": {
    "trace": "abc123-verification-trace"
  },
  "statusCode": 200,
  "message": "Negative media screening retrieved successfully.",
  "help": null,
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "screeningId": "scr-nm-abc123",
    "trace": "abc123-verification-trace",
    "totalArticles": 0,
    "findingCount": 0,
    "hasFindings": false,
    "isNegative": false,
    "summary": "",
    "articles": [],
    "triggeredByAction": "on-verified",
    "screenedAt": 1740715200000,
    "screenedTime": "28/02/2026 04:00:00",
    "createdAt": 1740715200000,
    "createdTime": "28/02/2026 04:00:00"
  },
  "error": null
}

Error response (404)

{
  "timestamp": "2026-02-28T04:00:00.000Z",
  "serviceUid": "5qA5Hq0n1JQTY2TASItxYXSRyND3",
  "trace": "abc123-verification-trace",
  "path": "/v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media/latest",
  "pathParams": {
    "trace": "abc123-verification-trace"
  },
  "statusCode": 404,
  "message": "Not found",
  "help": null,
  "status": "error",
  "data": null,
  "error": {
    "type": "not_found",
    "details": [
      {
        "message": "Negative media screening not found",
        "code": "not_found",
        "path": ["screening"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

GET/v5/verifications/:trace/stakeholders/:stakeholderId/negative-media/latest

Get stakeholder screening

Retrieve the latest negative media screening result for a specific stakeholder within a verification.

Path parameters

Name
trace
Type
string
Description
The unique identifier for the verification.
Name
stakeholderId
Type
string
Description
The unique identifier for the stakeholder.

Response fields

The response fields are identical to the entity screening response, with the addition of:

Field	Type	Description
`stakeholderId`	string	The stakeholder that was screened.

Error responses

Status Code	Error Type	Description
404	`not_found`	No negative media screening exists for this stakeholder.
422	`validation_error`	Invalid stakeholder ID (e.g. empty or whitespace).

Request

GET

/v5/verifications/:trace/stakeholders/:stakeholderId/negative-media/latest

curl -X GET "https://api.bronid.com/v5/verifications/{trace}/stakeholders/{stakeholderId}/negative-media/latest" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic {credentials}"

Response

{
  "timestamp": "2026-02-28T04:00:00.000Z",
  "serviceUid": "5qA5Hq0n1JQTY2TASItxYXSRyND3",
  "trace": "abc123-verification-trace",
  "path": "/v5/verifications/:trace/stakeholders/:stakeholderId/negative-media/latest",
  "pathParams": {
    "trace": "abc123-verification-trace",
    "stakeholderId": "sth-director-001"
  },
  "statusCode": 200,
  "message": "Negative media screening retrieved successfully.",
  "help": null,
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "screeningId": "scr-nm-def456",
    "trace": "abc123-verification-trace",
    "stakeholderId": "sth-director-001",
    "totalArticles": 2,
    "findingCount": 1,
    "hasFindings": true,
    "isNegative": true,
    "summary": "One article references alleged misconduct involving the stakeholder.",
    "articles": [
      {
        "title": "Director linked to alleged misconduct",
        "link": "https://example.com/news/article-1",
        "displayLink": "example.com",
        "snippet": "An investigation alleges...",
        "summary": "The article describes an ongoing investigation into the stakeholder.",
        "isNegative": true,
        "publishedAt": "2026-02-15"
      },
      {
        "title": "Director appointed to advisory board",
        "link": "https://example.com/news/article-2",
        "displayLink": "example.com",
        "snippet": "The stakeholder has been appointed...",
        "summary": "The article reports a new advisory appointment.",
        "isNegative": false,
        "publishedAt": "2026-01-20"
      }
    ],
    "triggeredByAction": "on-verified",
    "screenedAt": 1740715200000,
    "screenedTime": "28/02/2026 04:00:00",
    "createdAt": 1740715200000,
    "createdTime": "28/02/2026 04:00:00"
  },
  "error": null
}

Articles

Each entry in articles represents a single search result analyzed by bronID's summarization layer.

Field	Type	Description
`title`	string	Article title.
`link`	string	Article URL.
`displayLink`	string	Display-friendly URL (typically the host).
`snippet`	string	Search-result snippet.
`summary`	string	bronID-derived per-article summary.
`isNegative`	boolean	bronID-derived flag — true if the article describes a negative finding.
`publishedAt`	string	ISO 8601 publication date if exposed by the source (optional).

POST/v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media

Trigger a rescreen

Dispatches a negative media rescreen for an existing verification. This is an asynchronous operation — the endpoint returns a jobId immediately, and the full screening cascade (stakeholders → stakeholder risk → entity → entity risk) runs in the background.

Poll GET /v5/verifications/:trace/jobs/negativeMedia/:jobId to check lifecycle status. See the Jobs reference for the full status machine and the in-flight debounce behavior.

Gated against concurrent runs. If a rescreen is already in flight, the endpoint returns 429 with the jobId of the in-flight dispatch so you can poll that instead of starting a new one.

Path parameters

Name
trace
Type
string
Description
The unique identifier for the verification to rescreen. Must refer to a v5 verification.

Request body

No fields. Send an empty JSON object ({}).

Response fields

Field	Type	Description
`triggered`	boolean	Always `true` on a 200 response.
`jobId`	string	The dispatched job's ID. Use it to poll status via the jobs endpoint.

Error responses

Status Code	Error Type	Description
404	`not_found`	No v5 verification exists for the given trace.
429	`too_many_requests`	A rescreen is already in flight for this verification. Response message includes the conflicting job's `jobId`; poll it instead of retrying immediately.

Request

POST

/v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media

curl -X POST "https://api.bronid.com/v5/verifications/{trace}/negative-media" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic {credentials}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}'

Response

{
  "timestamp": "2026-02-28T04:00:00.000Z",
  "serviceUid": "5qA5Hq0n1JQTY2TASItxYXSRyND3",
  "trace": "abc123-verification-trace",
  "path": "/v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media",
  "pathParams": {
    "trace": "abc123-verification-trace"
  },
  "statusCode": 200,
  "message": "Negative media rescreen dispatched.",
  "help": null,
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "triggered": true,
    "jobId": "V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT"
  },
  "error": null
}

Error response (429 – already in flight)

{
  "timestamp": "2026-02-28T04:00:00.000Z",
  "serviceUid": "5qA5Hq0n1JQTY2TASItxYXSRyND3",
  "trace": "abc123-verification-trace",
  "path": "/v5/verifications/:trace/negative-media",
  "pathParams": {
    "trace": "abc123-verification-trace"
  },
  "statusCode": 429,
  "message": "Negative media rescreen already in progress (jobId: V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT). Poll its job doc for status.",
  "help": null,
  "status": "error",
  "data": null,
  "error": {
    "type": "too_many_requests",
    "details": [
      {
        "message": "Conflicting in-flight job: V1StGXR8_Z5jdHi6B-myT",
        "code": "too_many_requests",
        "path": ["trace"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Result delivery

Negative media results are delivered through the same webhook channel as other risk events. When the cascade completes, the verification webhook fires with the updated idvRisk and a screening.negativeMedia summary. Use the jobId returned from the rescreen endpoint to follow lifecycle state via the Jobs endpoint while you wait.

Screening summary

The webhook payload's screening.negativeMedia field summarizes the latest screening outcome.

Field	Type	Description
`status`	string	`"not_screened"`, `"clear"`, or `"findings_present"`.
`findingCount`	number	Count of articles flagged as negative by bronID's summarization layer.
`lastScreenedAt`	number	Unix timestamp of when the screening was performed (milliseconds).
`lastScreenedTime`	string	Human-readable screening time.

IDV risk factor

Negative media contributes to the calculated IDV risk via the negativeMedia factor:

`findingCount`	Factor status	Factor risk
`null` (never screened)	`not_screened`	`unknown`
`0`	`clear`	`low`
`> 0`	`findings_present`	`medium_high`

The final IDV risk is the maximum across all factors, so a high-risk country still dominates a medium_high negative-media factor. See IDV risks for the full risk model.

Stakeholders (KYB)

For KYB verifications, every stakeholder is screened in parallel with the entity. The cascade runs:

Each stakeholder is screened and their stakeholder risk is recalculated.
The entity is screened and the entity risk is recalculated.

Each stakeholder run is billed separately for parity with the watchlist cascade. See the per-service screening configuration in the bronID portal for details.