A new start-up called Gawq wishes to deal with the problem of fake news and the “echo chamber” problem produced by social networks, where our view of the world is shaped by manipulative algorithms and customized feeds. Through Gawq’s newly introduced mobile news app, it aims to present news from a variety of sources, while enabling users to filter between news, viewpoint, paid material, and more, as well as compare sources, examine facts, and even examine the publication’s content for precision.
The concept for Gawq originates from Joshua Dziabiak, co-founder and now board member at the now rewarding insurance tech startup The Zebra. Dziabiak stepped down from his everyday function this March, and established Gawq shortly after.
“It started as a passion job and after that it changed into an organization,” Dziabiak describes. “I wished to do something that had a bigger social impact. And this idea– this problem– has appeared and been amplified in truly huge methods over the past year, particularly,” he states.
When news is served up through social media channels, people exist with their own version of reality, as the algorithms start to filter out the news that does not engage them and show them more of what does. Gradually, this system led some publishers to pursue clicks and outrage with over-the-top, marvelous headlines, but it also spawned a network of publications that would slant and bias the news in ways that much better linked them with an either ideal- or left-leaning audience.
As a result, the media environment general began to focus itself around eyeballs and not always news quality, Dziabiak states. While there is still quality journalism being produced, it can in some cases be tough to find amongst all the noise.
“I think reporters and content creators need a new procedure for success. One that is based on the core principles of journalism, and not the variety of clicks or shares,” Dziabiak notes.
Image Credits: Gawq The Gawq name is suggested to be a pointer of how today’s headings frequently scream for our attention. It misses the mark for an app about news accuracy. At its core, Gawq
is a news aggregator where you are not implied to” look “at headings, but really consider the news and read with a more important eye. At launch, the app arranges over 150 different top media sources of all types and sizes, consisting of those that lean one method or the other. The publishers cover topics like U.S. and world news, politics, sports, business, tech, entertainment, science, way of life news, and more. Gawq likewise arranges the day’s news without utilizing any sort of algorithms or personalization engines, but instead by topic. As you check out, you click to compare protection of the story with other sources to get a much better concept of how different outlets are writing about the exact same subject. With a clever red and blue slider bar at the top of the screen, you can drag your finger over to the red side to see the protection from right-leaning sources, or you can drag it to the blue side to see the more left-leaning coverage.
The company says it uses data from 3 various nonprofits who audit media– AllSides, Media Bias Truth Check, and Advertisement Fontes Media– to identify if sources are” right”or”left.”
Image Credits: Gawq
Simply listed below the slider bar are the associated fact checks to the subject at hand, for simple referral.
While Gawq will allow users to toggle some news sources on or off within the app’s settings, it utilizes language that prevents you from doing so by reminding you that it works best when you keep a “diverse set of media.”
In addition, Gawq introduces a “smart labels” feature to immediately determine and tag non-news– like op-ed’s, sponsored content, or even celeb gossip, if you dislike that sort of thing. You can toggle these on or off, too, if you wish to conceal anything that’s not difficult news.
Another good feature– for the news customer at least, if not the publisher– is that Gawq loads posts by default into a “reader mode” that removes the ads and diversions that tend to fill the pages on news websites nowadays. You can still click to see the post on the site, if you prefer.
While much of the above is associated with how the news exists to the reader, Gawq’s larger bet is that it can develop a Wikipedia-like neighborhood of news customers who will rate stories for adherence to journalistic practices. This is a more ambitious and perhaps extremely positive endeavour.
On every article, users can click an evaluation button that walks them through a short quiz where they’re asked to rate the story’s balance, the information offered, and whether the headline was clickbait. Users then include a comment and submit their report. This evaluation procedure was built off the core ethics of journalism as defined by the Society of Specialist Journalists, Dziabiak says.
Image Credits: Gawq Likely, just a minority of Gawq users would rank the stories. Over time and with scale, the evaluations could assist offer outlets a precise rating on news precision and their propensities towards sensationalism, in the eyes of news customers. That data might have external value, however for now, Gawq’s company design is “TBD,” Dziabiak admits.
The problem Gawq aims to tackle is a challenging one. And probably, those who need to widen their worldview will be least likely to download a brand-new app to do so. They’re frequently passive news consumers who have relaxed consuming news (and frequently, outrage and lies) from ever-personalized social media feeds. They then click one favorite news TV channel for everything else. There is a growing number of individuals who want a more neutral media landscape, and Gawq can help them discover it with how it positions news as right, left or focused when comparing sources.
The startup is presently self-funded and has a small team of engineers, mainly working on an agreement basis. Gawq has not eliminated future investment, nevertheless.
The app is a complimentary download on iOS and Android.
Article curated by RJ Shara from Source. RJ Shara is a Bay Area Radio Host (Radio Jockey) who talks about the startup ecosystem – entrepreneurs, investments, policies and more on her show The Silicon Dreams. The show streams on Radio Zindagi 1170AM on Mondays from 3.30 PM to 4 PM.
Recent Comments