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Defacto

An algorithmic approach to media bias and fake news

DeFacto Presentation from Laura Meskanen on Vimeo.

BACKDROP FOR DEFACTO
The public’s trust in media is incredibly important in a democracy, but that trust & attention has rightfully degraded because:
➤ News dilution (CNN’s 24-hour news reporting without real news to report)
➤ Media bias (News organizations implicitly allowing personal bias to slip through)
➤ Fake news (Lazy journalism or purposeful misleading of readers to degrade trust in media)
➤ U.S. public trust in media in steady decline since 1999; fell sharply in 2016 in wake of contentious presidential campaign (Swift, 2016). Trust in media diagram ENTER DEFACTO
DeFacto works to restore reasons for the public to trust the media
➤ Analyzes all news on a certain subject and algorithmically verifies & then displays an accurate account of events to reader
➤ Crucially, explains to the reader why news is considered accurate or not
➤ This approach allows the public to stay informed and, with the media, hold those in power responsible.
➤ Additionally, educates public to recognize and understand fake news & media bias

Defacto

You can view the prototype with: inVision & the presentation can be found here