A vouch is someone putting their own reputation behind you. It's the platform's core trust signal: publishing most content requires being vouched for.
Why we do it this way
Because we want the feed to stay human and worth reading. Vouching keeps out bots and spam without heavy-handed moderation — content earns attention because real, vouched people stand behind it. Anyone who fakes their way in gets removed.
You can create an account, read everything, and draft content without a vouch. The vouch gate applies when you publish.
How to get vouched — even if you don't know anyone here
- Go to the get-vouched-for page and fill out the request form.
- Right now, every request is reviewed personally by the My Local Press team — you don't need to know an existing member. Tell us who you are honestly; that's it.
- Over time, vouching will be handled by trusted people in your own community. Until then, we do it ourselves, by hand, for everyone.
Invited to write for a publication? You're already vouched
There's a second door. When the owner of a publication invites you onto their team, they state that they know you and are responsible for what you publish under their publication — so accepting that invitation vouches you. Nothing to fill out, nobody to wait on, and you don't need a paid plan to accept.
Once you're vouched, you can publish stories and community content, create a publication, and everything else that requires it.