Commercial Innovation Opportunities for Civic Tech to Reduce Misinformation: "Thinking outside the bunk"

Ground News

See every side of every news story

Misinformation civic tech does not always need to ‘correct’ citizens. It can widen what citizens see, help them compare competing framings, and make the structure of the information environment more visible.

Ground News is a news platform that helps readers compare how different outlets cover the same story. It groups coverage from multiple sources and adds contextual information on media bias, factuality and ownership, allowing users to see how the same issue is framed across the media landscape. Its stated ambition is to help readers move beyond algorithmic narrowing and develop a more rounded view of public issues.

The case is inspirational because it works by diversifying perspectives. Users are not simply told whether a claim is true or false; they are shown how coverage differs, which perspectives dominate, and where blind spots may exist. This reflects a more pluralist stance.

Ground News also points to a second opportunity: building misinformation civic tech as a sustainable public-facing service, rather than only as a short-term academic, philanthropic or pilot project.

The challenge is to reach and include. Ground News is most likely to serve people already motivated to question their media habits, compare sources and escape algorithmic feeds. It depends on voluntary adoption and individual initiative. It is also not necessarily tailored to communities facing specific systemic harms, targeted disinformation, low institutional trust or particular vulnerabilities.

The opportunity, then, is to take its strongest principles further: perspective diversification adapted into community-centred tools that meet people where misinformation is most socially consequential.