| Ground News | |
| Commercial: | Yes |
| Type: | News aggregator |
| Language: | English |
| Country Of Origin: | Canada |
| Owner: | Snapwise Inc. |
| Key People: | Harleen Kaur (CEO) |
| Current Status: | Active |
| Location City: | Kitchener, Ontario |
| Location Country: | Canada |
Ground News is a news aggregator service that allows users to compare media coverage from across the political spectrum.[1] It was founded in 2018 and is based in Kitchener, Ontario.[2]
When searching for a news topic, a user is served with a selection of articles. Rather than show results based on popularity, the Ground News algorithm is meant to serve results based "on a number of factors like length of existence, citations in other publications, what they [the news organization] have published already, and social media presence."[3] Articles are labeled to indicate a publication's ownership, an assessment of the publication's typical reporting quality, and possible political bias on a left-right spectrum. Users are meant to compare headlines from publications of differing ideological biases, as well as compare how coverage changes based on location (from local or international news sources) and time.
"Media Bias Ratings" of news publications are sourced from Ad Fontes Media, AllSides, and Media Bias/Fact Check. Publications can be given ratings ranging from "Far Left" to "Center" to "Far Right." The "Average Bias Rating" is meant to reflect an average of the three ratings, and can be edited by users subscribed to the "Pro" tier. "Factuality" ratings reflect how frequently a publication uses credible sources, gives adequate context to articles, word choice in articles, and how quickly inaccuracies are corrected. Scores include "Low," "Mixed," and "High." Media Bias Ratings and Factuality ratings are determined for publications, not individual articles.[4]
Ground News maintains a "Blindspot" feed, as well as a "Blindspot Report" newsletter, which highlights news topics that are largely being reported by publications on only one side of the political spectrum.[5]
The Ground News app has a citizen journalism feature that allows users to verify the content of reports that happen locally.[6]