The Factual - News Evaluator

Get smarter about the news you read

What is The Factual - News Evaluator?

The Factual - News Evaluator is a Chrome extension designed to help users evaluate the informativeness of online news articles. It does this through an automated evaluation of factors such as the diversity and extent of sources cited, the level of opinion contained in the piece, the expertise of the author on the topic, and the historical reputation of the site publishing the article. Instant grades are displayed for any news article viewed in the browser.

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Extension stats

This extension was removed from Chrome Web Store on 2023-09-22

By: http://thefactual.com

Users: 3,308+

Rating: 4.85 (34)

Version: 7.2.1 (Last updated: 2023-09-22)

Creation date: 2020-05-30

Risk impact: High risk impact

Risk likelihood: High risk likelihood

Manifest version: 2

Permissions:

http://*/*
https://*/*
tabs
https://forum.cvko.co/*
https://*.thefactual.com/*
storage

Size: 3.41M

Email: su*****@thefactual.com

URLs: Website ,Privacy policy

Other platforms

Not available on Firefox

Not available on Edge

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Extension summary

Analyze keywords

Wondering if a news article you came across is worth your time? Is it well-researched? Is it too opinionated? Is it written by a reporter who is knowledgeable about the topic?

The Factual’s automatically evaluates how informative a news article is based on four factors:

Diversity and extent of sources
Level of opinionatedness
Author expertise on topic
Site's historical reputation.

The Factual’s grades are instantly displayed on any news article in your browser and even injected directly into your Facebook or Twitter feed.

Get the most informative stories on trending news topics at https://thefactual.com/news in your new tab (option to turn on/off).

FAQ: http://www.thefactual.com/static/extfaq.html

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.

Pros

Helps assess news quality and bias
Provides other viewpoints on same topic
Minimalistic and unobtrusive design
Offers feedback on news reading habits
Increases awareness about the source of the content

Cons

Frequently results in no rating for certain news sources
Perceived to have bias against conservative websites
Algorithm miscalculations regarding references
Overrates certain news sources such as Al Jazeera

Most mentioned

User-friendly
Balances biases
News quality assessment
Potential for improvement
Filter for reliable news

User reviews

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: This really is a critically needed resource in the world today. So many people choose whether a media source is trustworthy based on whether it "resonates" with them - which is a nice way of saying that they're only interested in media that reflects their own biases and prejudices. Some other sites rate media according to perceived bias, but The Factual is significantly more concerned about its accuracy, willingness to tell the whole story, and whether it is trying to create hatred against others through emotive, negative writing. I love this Chrome app which automatically assesses news articles and rates them on numerous criteria. P.S. I'm not involved in any way with The Factual, but as someone very involved in conflict resolution (eg see www.youtube.com/ToTranformConflict ) I do greatly appreciate the work it is doing.

Tony Lenart, 2022-10-11

Most news sources bring up no rating. I installed and tried clicking on various news article on the Google News page. Many such as CNN and USA Today showed no rating. I do not find any value from this extension.

Steven Murphy, 2020-09-20

With the amount of reading I do and news I consume, this extension is the best. Hands down, Factual is a simple addition to guide me and others to higher quality pieces. Good luck to the team.

Arul Velan, 2019-11-27

View all user reviews

Extension safety

Risk impact

The Factual - News Evaluator requires some sensitive permissions that could impact your browser and data security. Exercise caution before installing.