Behavioral Attributes
Ferretly uses machine learning to analyze posts and images for specific types of behaviors. When you run a background check, Ferretly retrieves posts from your subject's social media profiles. Each post and image is then analyzed for 13 distinct behavioral attributes and a custom set of keywords (up to 500 per profile).
If a post exceeds a certain threshold confidence for at least one behavior Ferretly flags it. For example, a post might have a 65% confidence of Disparaging language and a 73% confidence of Prejudice. In such cases, the flag will indicate Prejudice as the behavioral attribute. It's also possible for a post and its associated image to be flagged simultaneously. In this case, the flag will indicate both the reason for the post text and the image triggering one of the behavioral attributes.
Below is a table that lists the behavioral attributes surfaced by Ferretly and their corresponding definitions.
Behavior | Definition |
|---|---|
Disparaging | Name calling or derogatory statements toward an individual about their physical characteristics such as weight, height, looks, intelligence, etc. |
Drug/Alcohol Mention | Statements related to drugs and/or drug use including slang words, street names and phrases. |
Drug Image | Images of pills, syringes, paraphernalia. It may include smoking, drinking, and injections. |
Gory Image | Images of disfigurations, open wounds, bloodshed, body parts, burns, crime scenes, corpses, vehicle crash scenes, explosions, and fighting. |
Nudity Image | Images of explicit and non-explicit nudity, adult and pornographic content, partially exposed body parts. |
Politics/Government | Statements considered relating to politics or government affairs. This could include politicians, policies, or the political process. These often focus on specific issues such as abortion, environmental, immigration, government regulations, etc. |
Prejudice | Derogatory, abusive and/or threatening statements toward a specific group of people typically on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation. |
Profanity | Obscene language, cursing, swearing or in general crude or vulgar words and phrases |
Rude Gestures/Symbols | Visual depiction of middle finger, nazi party symbols, and images containing extremist and terrorist group flags. |
Self-Harm | Indications of wanting to hurt oneself or take one's own life intentionally. This could also be mentions of suicide or suicidal behavior in others. |
Suggestive | Includes expressions relating to sexual misconduct that could be considered sexually demeaning or sexual harassment. |
Threats | An intent to inflict harm or loss of another person’s life. |
Weapons Image | Instruments or devices used to cause harm to living beings including firearms, sharp weapons, explosives and ammunition. |
Keywords | Flags posts based on matches to custom keywords provided. |