A new start called Gawq aims to address the problem of fake news and the problem of the “echo chamber” caused by social media, where our view of the world is shaped by manipulative algorithms and personalized feeds. Gawq’s newly launched mobile messaging app is designed to present news from a range of sources. At the same time, users can filter between news, opinions, paid content and more, compare sources, check facts and even check the content of the publication for accuracy.
The idea for Gawq came from Joshua Dziabiak, co-founder and now board member of the now profitable insurance tech start-up The Zebra. Dziabiak resigned from his daily activities in March and soon after founded Gawq.
“It started as a passion project and then turned into a business,” explains Dziabiak. “I wanted to do something that had a bigger social impact. And this idea – this problem – came up last year and has grown particularly dramatically, ”he says.
When messages are delivered through social media channels, people are presented with their own version of reality as the algorithms begin to filter out the messages that aren’t bothering them and show them more of what they are doing. Over time, this system caused some publishers to track clicks and outrage with exaggerated, sensational headlines, but it also created a network of publications that skewed and skewed the news in ways that better connected it to right or left – Leaning audience.
As a result, the media environment as a whole has been focused on eyeballs and not necessarily news quality, says Dziabiak. While quality journalism is still being created, it can sometimes be difficult to find among all the noise.
“I believe journalists and content creators need a new measure of success. One that is based on the core ethics of journalism and not the number of clicks or shares, ”notes Dziabiak.
Credit: Gawq
The name Gawq is intended as a reminder of how often today’s headlines cry out for our attention. But it misses the mark for an app about message accuracy. At its core, Gawq is a news aggregator where you are not meant to “gawk” the headlines, but actually read and look at the news with a more critical eye.
At launch, the app organizes more than 150 different top media sources of all types and sizes, including those that lean one way or another. The publishers cover topics such as US and world news, politics, sports, business, technology, entertainment, science, lifestyle news and more.
Gawq also organizes the news of the day without the use of algorithms or personalization engines, but by topic. As you read, click to compare coverage of the story to other sources and get a better idea of how different outlets are writing on the same subject. With a clever red and blue slider at the top of the screen, you can drag your finger to the red side to see coverage from right-facing sources, or you can drag it to the blue side to see the left side. leaning cover.
The company claims to use data from three different nonprofits that audit media – All pages, Media bias fact check and Ad Fontes Media – to determine whether the sources are “right” or “left”.
Credit: Gawq
The relevant fact checks on the respective topic are located directly below the slider to enable easy reference.
While Gawq allows users to turn some news sources on or off in the app’s settings, it uses a language that will deter you by reminding you that this works best when you manage a “diverse media set”.
In addition, Gawq is introducing a “Smart Labels” feature that can automatically identify and tag non-news items – such as Op-Eds, sponsored content, or even celebrity gossip if you hate that. You can also turn these on or off if you want to hide something that isn’t difficult news.
Another nice feature – at least for the news consumer, if not the editor – is that Gawq loads articles into a “reading mode” by default, which removes the ads and distractions that tend to fill the pages of news websites these days. You can still click to view the article on the website if you prefer.
While much of the above is related to how the news is presented to the reader, Gawq’s bigger bet is that a Wikipedia-like community of news reviewers can be created to rate stories for adherence to journalistic practices. This is a more ambitious and perhaps overly optimistic endeavor.
On each article, users can click a review button that will take them through a quick quiz asking them to rate the balance of the story, the details provided, and whether the headline was clickbait. Users then add a comment and submit their report. This review process is based on the core ethics of journalism as defined by the Society of professional journalists, Says Dziabiak.
Credit: Gawq
Likely only a minority of Gawq users would rate the stories. But over time and with magnitude, the ratings could help give the outlets an accurate assessment of the news accuracy and its tendencies to be sensational in the eyes of news consumers. This data may have external value, but Gawq’s business model is currently “TBD,” admits Dziabiak.
The problem that Gawq wants to address is difficult. And those who need to expand their worldview are least likely to download a new app to do so. They’re often passive news consumers who sit back and take in news (and often outrage and lies) from ever-personalized social media feeds. You then click on a favorite news channel for everything else. However, there are a growing number of people who want a more neutral media landscape, and Gawq can help them find that by positioning news as right, left, or centered when comparing sources.
The startup is currently self-financed and has a small team of engineers who mainly work on a contract basis. However, Gawq hasn’t ruled out future investments.
The app is a Free download on iOS and Android.