When to report
You should consider filing a slash proposal if you have concrete evidence that a Human Verified profile is not a real, unique human. Valid reasons include:
Duplicate identities — The same person is verified under multiple profiles
Bot behavior — Automated posting patterns, impossible activity timestamps, or coordination with known bot networks
Admissions — The account has publicly stated or revealed non-human status
Technical evidence — Links to known sybil operations or provably automated infrastructure
When NOT to report
Do not file a slash proposal if:
You disagree with or dislike the user — That's not evidence of being non-human
The account is inactive or posts infrequently — Low activity is not proof of anything
You have a hunch but no evidence — You're staking your own credibility, so be sure
You're trying to settle a personal dispute — Slash proposals are for fraud, not grievances
Filing a bad-faith slash costs you. If your proposal is rejected, you lose the credibility you staked.
How to report
Gather your evidence. Collect verifiable proof that the verified profile is non-human (screenshots, links, on-chain data, behavioral analysis, etc.)
Initiate a slash proposal against the Human Verification bond through Ethos
Stake your credibility. You must put up your own credibility as a bond, creating skin in the game that discourages frivolous accusations
What happens next
Once your slash proposal is submitted:
Community review — Reputable Ethos users review the evidence and vote on the outcome, weighted by their credibility scores. This is not a popularity contest — voters are expected to evaluate the evidence objectively.
Resolution:
If approved: The Validator who verified the fraudulent account loses 800 credibility and permanently loses the ability to verify humans
If rejected: You lose the credibility you staked as the proposer
The process follows Ethos's established social consensus mechanism, which has been battle-tested across other protocol functions.