NewsGuard
 | |
| Developer(s) | NewsGuard Technologies, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Initial release | March 2018 |
| Stable release | Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari: 4.1.1 (Edge) / April 5, 2022[1] |
| Platform | Browser extension |
| Type | Browser extension |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www |
NewsGuardis a rating system for news and information websites. It is accessible viabrowser extensionsandmobile apps.According to NewsGuard, its team of "expert journalists" score publishers on a scale of 0-100 based on whether they have transparent finances or publish many errors, among other criteria.[2]
NewsGuard Technologies Inc., the company behind the tool, also provides services such asmisinformationtracking andbrand safetyfor advertisers, search engines, social media platforms, cybersecurity firms, and government agencies.[3][4]
History
[edit]NewsGuard Technologies was founded in 2018 bySteven BrillandL. Gordon Crovitz,who serve as co-CEOs.[5]Crovitz was a former publisher ofThe Wall Street Journal.[2]
In 2018,Joyce Purnick,former bureau chief and editor atThe New York Times,and Amy Westfeldt, an editor with theAssociated Pressfor 25 years, joined Newsguard.[6]
In April 2019, the co-founders of NewsGuard announced that they had entered talks with Britishinternet service providersto incorporate their credibility scoring system into consumer internet packages. Under the plans, a user would see a warning message before visiting a misleading site without needing to have the NewsGuard extension installed. Users would also have the ability to disable the feature.[7]
In January 2020, NewsGuard began notifying users that it would become a paid, member-supported browser extension in early 2020, while remaining free for libraries and schools. Early adopters received a 33% discount on the price, paying $1.95/month (USD) or £1.95/month (UK). They plan to roll out new premium features, including a reliability score, and offer new mobile apps forAndroidandiOS.[8]
Company structure
[edit]NewsGuard is based inNew York City.[9]It raised $6 million in 2018.[10]Investors include theKnight Foundation,Publicis,and formerReutersexecutiveTom Glocer.[11][12]
Its advisors include former officials such asTom Ridge,formerhomeland securitysecretary,Richard Stengel,formerundersecretary of statefor public diplomacy,Michael Hayden,formerCIAdirector general,Anders Fogh Rasmussen,formerNATOchief, as well asWikipediafounderJimmy Wales.[13][7]
Products and services
[edit]As of 2019, the company employed 35 journalists to review over 2,000 news sites. Ratings are broken down in terms of reliability, trustworthiness, and financial conflict of interest. This and additional information is then displayed in the form of a "Nutrition Label" by the NewsGuardbrowser extensionwhenever a user visits a news site. Sites that pass are shown with a green icon next to their name. Those with low scores are shown with a red icon. Research has shown that readers who see the green icon find the corresponding news site more accurate and trustworthy compared to those who see no icon or a red icon.[13][14]
Brill positions the extension as an alternative to government regulation and automated algorithms, such as those used byFacebook.[13]NewsGuard attempts to advise sites that it labels as unreliable on how to come into compliance with its rating criteria.[15]
Supported systems
[edit]NewsGuard operates a consumer-facing browser extension[9]andmobile appsforiOSandAndroid.[16]Supported browsers for the browser extension includeGoogle Chrome,Microsoft Edge,Firefox,andSafari.It is included by default in the mobile version of Edge, though users must enable it.[16]
Business model and reach
[edit]For revenue, NewsGuard Technologies licenses their ratings. Clients include technology companies and the advertising industry, who view the ratings as a way to protect clients against advertising on sites that could harm their brand.[11]It also contracts with theUnited States Department of Defense.[17][18]
NewsGuard expanded its coverage to news in European languages such as French and German ahead of the2019 European Parliament election.[19][20]
As of January 2021, NewsGuard says it has rated more than 6,000 news sites that account for 95% of online engagement with news in the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany and Italy.[21]
In January of 2022, the company said it was profitable, having doubled its revenue over the last year.[10]
Since 2022, the company has partnered theAmerican Federation of Teachersso that many classrooms and libraries in the United States have the NewsGuard browser extension installed on their computers, potentially reaching millions of users.[22]The move has received criticism from conservatives.[23]
In 2024The Daily Wire,The Federalist,and the state ofTexassued the USDepartment of Statearguing that it does not have the authority to give a $25,000 grant to tools like NewsGuard that could "render disfavored press outlets unprofitable."[24][additional citation(s) needed]TheBiden administrationsought to have the case dismissed, but federal judgeJeremy Kernodleagreed with the plaintiff and allowed the case to proceed.[24][needs update]
Republican politicians in theU.S. House of Representativesopened a probe into Newsguard in June 2024.[2]
Ratings
[edit]NewsGuard's founders cautioned that its "Nutrition Label" should not be treated as an endorsement equivalent to thenutrition facts labelfrom theFood and Drug Administration.[11]
As of June 2024, Newsguard ratedFox Newsat 69.5,Breitbartat 49.5, theNew Republicat 92.5,Mother Jonesat 69.5, and theWashington Postat 100.[25]It also recently downgraded theNew York Timesfrom 100 to 87.5 for not distinguishing clearly enough between opinion and fact.[25]
CEOGordon Crovitzargued that "Under NewsGuard’s apolitical rating system, many conservative outlets outscore similar left-leaning brands:The Daily CalleroutscoresThe Daily Beast,the Daily Wireoutscores the Daily Kos, Fox News outscoresMSNBCand The Wall Street Journal outscoresthe New York Times."[2]
Sites that had previously ignored the extension, such asMailOnline,objected to being listed as unreliable.[26]The decision to list MailOnline as unreliable was reversed in 2019, and NewsGuard admitted they were wrong on some counts.[27]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^NewsGuard Technologies."NewsGuard for Microsoft Edge".Microsoft Store.Archivedfrom the original on April 14, 2022.RetrievedApril 14,2022.
- ^abcdFortinsky, Sarah (June 13, 2024)."James Comer investigating news-rating group NewsGuard".The Hill.Archivedfrom the original on August 8, 2024.RetrievedAugust 8,2024.
- ^Mayhew, Freddy (October 29, 2019)."News websites rated 'red' by Newsguard could miss out on ad money after agency deal".Press Gazette.Archivedfrom the original on January 26, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 16,2021.
- ^"NSIN Post | NSIN | #52Weeks: Countering Disinformation".UNUM.Archived fromthe originalon November 29, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 16,2021.
- ^Stelter, Brian(March 4, 2018)."This start-up wants to evaluate your news sources".CNN Business.Archivedfrom the original on June 11, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 23,2019.
- ^Calderone, Michael (April 19, 2018)."Fox-run state? — Harper's editor fired — NewsGuard expands — Tampa Bay Times cuts — Katy Perry wants WaPo".Politico.Archivedfrom the original on July 8, 2024.RetrievedJuly 8,2024.
- ^abWaterson, Jim (April 24, 2019)."Untrustworthy news sites could be flagged automatically in UK".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Archivedfrom the original on July 3, 2024.RetrievedDecember 31,2019.
- ^Mayhew, Freddy (January 9, 2020)."News website rating tool Newsguard to start charging for service".Press Gazette.Archivedfrom the original on January 9, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 21,2020.
- ^abPerlow, Jason (March 24, 2020)."NewsGuard drops its paywall to combat coronavirus misinformation".ZDNet.Archivedfrom the original on November 26, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 16,2021.
- ^abStelter, Brian (January 16, 2022)."A startup that rates the reliability of news sources says it's making a profit".CNN.Archivedfrom the original on June 28, 2024.RetrievedAugust 8,2024.
- ^abcLee, Edmund (January 16, 2019)."Veterans of the News Business Are Now Fighting Fakes".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on May 17, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 23,2019.
- ^Li, Kenneth (February 1, 2019)."NewsGuard's 'real news' seal of approval helps spark change in fake news era".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on April 27, 2019.RetrievedNovember 13,2019.
- ^abcLapowski, Issie (August 23, 2018)."NewsGuard Wants to Fight Fake News With Humans, Not Algorithms".Wired.com.Archivedfrom the original on April 3, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 23,2019.
- ^Morgan, David (March 5, 2018)."New venture aims to combat" fake news "on social media with warning labels".CBS News.Archivedfrom the original on January 24, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 23,2019.
- ^Atkinson, Claire (August 24, 2018)."NewsGuard gives Fox News a thumbs up, Breitbart a thumbs down".NBC News.Archivedfrom the original on January 24, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 23,2019.
- ^abPerlow, Jason (May 14, 2020)."NewsGuard becomes free for all Microsoft Edge users".ZDNet.Archivedfrom the original on January 21, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 16,2021.
- ^"Contract to NewsGuard Technologies, Inc".USASpending.gov.Archivedfrom the original on August 16, 2023.RetrievedAugust 10,2023.
- ^"Newsguard Technologies Contracts (DoD)".MuckRock.June 9, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on December 3, 2023.RetrievedAugust 10,2023.
- ^Maurer, Jacob (February 22, 2019)."A certifier for media credibility?".Süddeutsche Zeitung.Archivedfrom the original on March 6, 2019.RetrievedMarch 2,2019.
- ^"NewsGuard's" news trust "ratings rolled out to Europe".European Journalism Observatory.June 6, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on September 6, 2019.
- ^"Startups battle the spread of fake news during the pandemic | PitchBook".pitchbook.com.Archivedfrom the original on September 22, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 16,2021.
- ^"AFT Partners with NewsGuard to Combat Misinformation Online".American Federation of Teachers.January 25, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2023.RetrievedOctober 20,2023.
- ^"NewsGuard: AFT's Shiny New Indoctrination Tool".Capital Research Center.Archivedfrom the original on December 8, 2023.RetrievedJuly 20,2024.
- ^abRaymond, Nate (May 8, 2024)."Texas' lawsuit claiming US helped censor conservative news can proceed".Reuters.
- ^abWagner, Laura (June 30, 2024)."A lifelong media maven grapples with the misinformation crisis".The Washington Post.
- ^"Daily Mail demands browser warning U-turn".BBC News.January 23, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on January 23, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 23,2019.
- ^Walker, James."We were wrong': US news rating tool boosts Mail Online trust ranking after talks with unnamed Daily Mail exec".Press Gazette.Archivedfrom the original on February 12, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 17,2020.
