INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Even before the 2016 election, political polarization was increasing, with Americans so entrenched in the news sources they rely on that the
unicorn funding status, wants to give users a way to step out of their bubbles with a feature called News From All Sides.News From All Sides
A slider at the bottom allows users to see articles about a specific news event sorted into five groups, ranging from most liberal to most
Now available for new users in the United States, the feature will gradually roll out as the company fine-tunes it.News From All Sides was
vice president of product
It also aims to provide more transparency about news algorithms, which have been blamed for exacerbating political polarization.Before
developing the feature, the SmartNews team conducted research and focus groups in places including Minneapolis and cities in North Carolina
was not just a wake-up call about what news reporting is, but users also expressed that they are much, much more aware of algorithms running
ids="1881750,1881751,1881752,1881753"]The political leanings of publications that appear in News From All Sides were categorized by
An AI-based algorithm decides which headlines appear in each category
As the feature goes through new iterations, Yang says SmartNews will make changes based on reader feedback
For example, future versions might look at the positions taken in specific articles and include more than five categories on the slider.News
are many people who are content to be ensconced in their own news bubbles and may not be interested in News From All Sides, even with the
upcoming presidential election
It targets people who are more political news junkies, who are checking their phones for news multiple times a day and will actively seek
because political polarization is a major issue there
