From what I've seen, Forex Factory does lay out how they calculate stuff, like saying return is just profit divided by your balance when the trade started, and they even mark trades "MTM" if they're still open. But there’s no way to really check if people posting their stats are telling the full truth or not. Anyone can show their results, and unless you link your account or something, it’s kinda trust-based!

One time, some guy I follow posted a wild profit run on Forex Factory but later admitted he left out all his losses. It’s easy to cherry-pick what looks good. If politicians or anyone in power used those numbers in a debate or public record, it could be super misleading.

So I don’t really trust what I see there for anything seriously important, like political reports. Actual transparency means having audit trails and facts you can double-check, and Forex Factory is more just for traders sharing with each other. It’s great for learning or chats, but not for major analysis or proving a point in politics.