Thesis

During the turmoil around the proposed judiciary changes in Israel, it became very clear that the media was acting like an echo chamber for ideas rather than a place to get facts. This trend  has been on the rise as the media has needed to become increasingly opinionated/click bait-y in order to get attention. 

The idea was to create an AI-powered news source (as an app) that would be ‘facts only’ without the interpretation and agenda that exist in much of the mainstream reporting. In addition, there would be opinions, but they would be flagged as such so readers could be more aware of what they are consuming. There were additional potential angles such as creating a fact page for politicians that shows what they have done vs. what they say or promise.  

Why the idea didn’t progress

I am a physicist with business expertise, so I needed someone on the AI side and haven’t yet found the one. 

Validation

There is a WhatsApp group in Israel called תמצית החדשות which essentially does the same thing – provides the facts about what’s happening without editorializing – but does so manually (vs. AI-powered). The interest in that group, which currently has over 50,000 followers, is the main validation. 

Wireframe

Research

• A survey in a startup/high tech WhatsApp group
• Analysis of תמצית החדשות

Insights

1. I didn’t see the need to invest in a PoC at that early stage, given the following of תמצית החדשות

2. It’s possible that I should have spent more time finding a partner vs. thinking about the idea itself. 

3. I see significant business potential, even though the motivation is passion (seeing a problem that needs to be solved)

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