The Newsroom – A new app teaching people to trust the news again

In these days of deep fakes, social media conspiracies, and online disinformation, it can be very difficult to know what is true and what is fake. Because people also tend to pay the most attention to news that already echoes their own views, this type of news has a greater tendency to divide people than to help them better understand each other. This erosion of trust, lack of transparency, and destruction of community is what startup The Newsroom is hoping to counter with its news app and Chrome extension.

Fact-checking the news is the best way to fight disinformation and malicious fakes – and it has never been more important. But high-quality fact-checking takes time and skill. By using AI to assess each news article, The Newsroom can support fact-checking efforts at unprecedented speed. Social media algorithms have allowed too many people to avoid hearing any ideas or opinions except what they already believe in – to the great detriment of our ability to think rationally and to engage constructively with those who are different from us. By providing context and opposing views, The Newsroom is also working to rebuild our capacity for rational thought and informed debate.