LEGAL
Competition Integrity & Independent Audit
Last updated: 17 August 2026
50 Million Messages is designed so that the Promoter does not manually choose the winning participant. The winning candidate is derived from the authoritative competition records under the published Competition Rules.
1. Predetermined ranking
After voting closes, eligible messages are ranked by valid vote count, highest first. If eligible messages have the same valid vote count, the lower permanent message number ranks higher.
2. Private identity is not a ranking input
The ranking uses the message identifier, competition eligibility and valid vote total. The private legal identity behind a message is not used to decide where that message ranks.
3. Vote-state audit trail
The production database maintains an append-only audit record of important voting-entitlement state changes such as a vote being cast, returned or revoked. Payment, refund, dispute, moderation and administrative records provide additional evidence used during the final review.
4. Final audit manifest
Once voting has closed and the competition records reconcile, a canonical final-audit manifest can be generated. A SHA-256 hash of that exact manifest can be retained so the audited manifest can later be checked against the recorded evidence.
5. Independent review
The current first-place candidate must undergo independent result review before becoming a verified winner. The independent reviewer is expected to verify the latest audit round, the disclosed ranking method and the relevant authoritative records.
6. Identity and conflict verification after candidate selection
After the message candidate has been determined and audited, the person associated with that message may be required to complete identity, age, residence, eligibility, sanctions, payment and conflict-of-interest checks. The potential winner and Promoter may be required to make formal declarations concerning prohibited relationships.
7. No automatic prize payment
A public first-place ranking does not itself trigger payment. The US$1,000,000 prize is paid only after the required audit and verification stages have been completed.
8. Late disqualification or payment problems
A verified late refund, reversal, successful dispute, fraud finding or valid disqualification before final payment may require the ranking to be recalculated. A new audit round can then supersede the earlier candidate while preserving the earlier audit history.
9. Public result evidence
After a lawful prize payment, the official Winner / Prize Proof page is intended to show appropriate public evidence including the winning message number, final valid vote count, audit status, audit manifest hash, verification status, payment date and links to available redacted audit or payment evidence.
10. Private evidence remains private
Identity documents, passport numbers, full banking details, private home addresses and other sensitive verification documents are not intended for public display. Cryptographic hashes and independent audit references can be used to establish evidence without publishing the underlying private documents.