Last updated: 24 September 2023
What is NewsQ?
NewsQ is an initiative that thinks about how automated news ranking works through design thinking activities.
The News Quality Initiative (NewsQ) seeks to boost quality journalism when algorithms rank and recommend online news articles. NewsQ approaches this task by engaging in design-thinking activities in collaboration with technologists, journalists, academics and members of other communities across civil society. More about what kinds of activities or projects that we’ve sought to explore over the years can be found here.
Does NewsQ or Hacks/Hackers create lists of acceptable news sources?
No, we gather existing lists of news ratings made by others.
Our project on creating a database of news quality signals included, for example, sources considered worthwhile by Kinzen Community Curators for conscious, focused reflection (more information). The project on Reliable Sources on Wikipedia collected ratings on sources from several locations, including the broader English-language Wikimedia community and the World Health Organization’s Vaccine Safety Net (more about this work).
The NewsQ Initiative believes strongly that it is not in a position to rank or rate news and information source quality.
What is the Reliable Sources on Wikipedia project?
It has explored ways to make it easier for Wikipedians to collaborate and consistently improve their articles’ citation quality.
The latest on this effort is a new toolkit under development for source tracking across Wikimedia projects. More about this project can be found here.
Has the project benefitted from any funding support from the National Science Foundation (NSF)?
Yes, a limited amount for a specific purpose.
The only support from the NSF that has benefitted the project was during 2021-2022. In relationship to the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust (ARTT) project, a small percentage of staff time finished out the development of a questionnaire on quality vaccine journalism. More about that questionnaire can be found here.
No funding has gone towards the collection of source rating lists or other aspects of the NewsQ Initiative. A fuller description of funding sources for NewsQ can be found here.
What is the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust (ARTT) project about?
ARTT is a separate project that seeks to provide practical tools that support trust-building online conversations online.
More information about ARTT can be found at artt.cs.washington.edu.