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Most of the examples this article cites are ones that exclude any coverage from left-leaning sources—and these are often highly biased articles, frequently lack

Most of the examples this article cites are ones that exclude any coverage from left-leaning sources—and these are often highly biased articles, frequently lacking in merit. Even with tools like Ground News, media literacy is still essential; you can’t just throw it out the window. From my perspective, it offers a much broader view than simply sticking to one or two news outlets—especially ones you'd normally avoid at all costs (which, to me, is the whole point of the Blindspot feature). While it does provide some historical data, media ownership information, and other insights depending on your subscription level, ultimately it's up to the reader to decide whether the coverage is legitimate.

unsignedint 1y ago
Just to add to my earlier point: Ground News is not a fact-checking service, nor does it claim to be one. While it does provide factual data about media sources, that information is aggregated from multiple third-party evaluators, as stated on its information page. It doesn’t verify the truth of individual news reports—it simply shows how a story was covered. Naturally, this means the platform includes misinformation, political spin, and propaganda—because it’s not designed to tell you whether a story is true. As for the Blindspot feature, it may flag sources with a history of low factual reporting, but ultimately, it’s still up to you to decide how trustworthy any given coverage is.
- wredcoll 1y ago
  I often see this defence of, "it's up to the reader to decide!" pop up in circumstances like this. The vast majority of the time it's used to justify either lying or repeating lies. What exactly is the use of a website apparently designed to give equal weight to lies and facts? How does that benefit anyone? The world doesn't need yet another journalism-related resource that repeats what other people say instead of attempting to actually find the truth. But doing the former is massively cheaper and easier than the latter.
  - unsignedint 1y ago
    Perhaps it’s most useful as a way to avoid getting trapped in a filter bubble. If you prefer to stay within the comfort zone of your favorite news outlet, there’s nothing stopping you—and in that case, you probably won’t get much value from services like Ground News. Personally, I find it helpful to see what people outside my usual information sphere are being exposed to—not just to understand why others may think the way they do, but also to better recognize how that contrast influences the coverage I choose to consume.

unsignedint 1y ago

Just to add to my earlier point: Ground News is not a fact-checking service, nor does it claim to be one. While it does provide factual data about media sources, that information is aggregated from multiple third-party evaluators, as stated on its information page. It doesn’t verify the truth of individual news reports—it simply shows how a story was covered. Naturally, this means the platform includes misinformation, political spin, and propaganda—because it’s not designed to tell you whether a story is true. As for the Blindspot feature, it may flag sources with a history of low factual reporting, but ultimately, it’s still up to you to decide how trustworthy any given coverage is.

wredcoll 1y ago
I often see this defence of, "it's up to the reader to decide!" pop up in circumstances like this. The vast majority of the time it's used to justify either lying or repeating lies. What exactly is the use of a website apparently designed to give equal weight to lies and facts? How does that benefit anyone? The world doesn't need yet another journalism-related resource that repeats what other people say instead of attempting to actually find the truth. But doing the former is massively cheaper and easier than the latter.
- unsignedint 1y ago
  Perhaps it’s most useful as a way to avoid getting trapped in a filter bubble. If you prefer to stay within the comfort zone of your favorite news outlet, there’s nothing stopping you—and in that case, you probably won’t get much value from services like Ground News. Personally, I find it helpful to see what people outside my usual information sphere are being exposed to—not just to understand why others may think the way they do, but also to better recognize how that contrast influences the coverage I choose to consume.