OSINT Basecamp: Ground News
Sherpa Intelligence: Your Guide Up a Mountain of Information!
This inaugural Sherpa Intelligence’s OSINT Basecamp post will cover the subscription news aggregator Ground News (https://ground.news/)
What sets Ground News apart is their rating system that adds context and transparency to the news stories they post, hailed as the world’s first news comparison platform. You can learn more about their methodology here.
Here’s an overview, before getting into all the content and features of Ground News.
WHO:
- Siblings Harleen Kaur (left) and Sukh Singh (right) created Ground News in 2018 because they “believed in the power of technology to reshape journalism for the better.”
- Harleen is a former NASA engineer, while her brother is former Bain consultant.
WHAT:
- Ground News is an online aggregator of published current events articles and uses data to identify the provenance of that information, as well as giving context if the item is biased towards left, right, or center.
- You can toggle between platforms for the United States, International, United Kingdom, Canada, or Europe geographic areas.
- Select from a wide variety of keywords to monitor or create your own.WHERE:
- Physically based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
- Located online at https://ground.news
- App available for iOS or Android
- Social Media presence on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and RedditWHEN:
- The launch of Ground News is listed as 27 April 2018.WHY:
- “The Mission of Ground News Ground News was built on the belief that responsible use of technology can restore trust in journalism. In an era where media bias and misinformation are rampant, Ground News aims to provide clarity. The platform allows users to compare news coverage from various sources, making it easier to detect bias and understand the broader context of stories. This mission is supported by a community of subscribers who are equally passionate about a transparent and unbiased news environment.” (source)HOW:
- Read more about their rating system here.
- Methodology: Diagrams have been used since ancient times as a way to represent complex information in a simple way. At Ground News we use diagrams to give readers a visual breakdown of the entire media landscape so they can quickly understand what’s going on. We take a comprehensive, data-driven approach to news.
- They also have what they call a Blindspot (TM) Formula which identifies a news story with political undertones and is disproportionately covered by media outlets on one side of the political spectrum.
GETTING DOWN TO BRASS TACKS
Let’s start with a breakdown of the main page:
You can select from 5 different editions: US, International, UK, Canada, Europe.
Look for topics in the search box or click on the pre-populated topics, clicking the plus (+) symbol will add that topic to your Ground News feed.
Daily Briefing and Top News Stories - self explanatory.
Blindspot is Ground News’ trademark for, “a news story that has political undertones and is disproportionately covered by media sources on one side of the political spectrum.”
Continue scrolling down the main page:
My News Bias provides a detailed breakdown of the sources, leanings, or biases of the news items you clicked on within the Ground News site. It can give you some insight into the types of media to which you are drawn.
Daily Local News is what it sounds like, a feed of news items curated from the location information you give at registration.
More headlines and news feeds labeled with the keyword topic, geographic location, and the right/center/left bias associated with the publication.
Lastly, more headlines and a site map:
For Trending Topics, you can click directly on the topic here.
More information about the company, how they rate the articles, and more information.
Download their app and connect with them on their socials.
Wait…there’s more!
As mentioned above, Ground News is a paid resource so kick the tires to figure out which level of subscription you need. Full disclosure, I am using the Vantage plan which I did pay for myself with a promotion that was running at the time.
—> Get one free month of a Ground News Premium subscription using code 5140464!
The Bottom Line:
Any more, the world’s “Information Superhighway” (IYKYK!) looks like this image below — trying to find a safe harbor all while the road is crowded with conflicting opinions and the world is on fire with Mis-Dis-Malinformation.
Ground.News provides a tool to help identify bias and digs into the source of the information. “Follow the money” — know who is funding that article you are reading, what are their motivations? My only critique thus far is that I would like the ability to sort chronologically, which I have expressed to the Ground News customer service.
Ground.News gets an enthusiastic Sherpa Intelligence thumbs up.
