How to read WorldWatchers
Two minutes that help you judge news better.
WorldWatchers shows in real time what is reported around the world, who reports it and from where. We do not tell you what is true. We show you the evidence so you can judge for yourself.
“Almost everyone reports it – so it must be true?”
Often, yes. But not always – and that is exactly where it gets dangerous:
- Many reports, one source. Ten newspapers print the same wire story. It looks like ten confirmations but it is one. That is why we count independent origins: a train crash in Spain, for example, produced 126 reports from only 27 independent origins.
- Everyone repeats the same claim. Before the 2003 Iraq war almost all major media reported weapons of mass destruction that did not exist. After the explosion at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza in 2023 many outlets named a cause within the first hours that could later not be verified – several newsrooms publicly corrected this.
- Many voices from one direction. State media or coordinated campaigns can produce many identical voices. We label state media and show when origins come only from them.
- Early figures change. After disasters and attacks, casualty figures often rise or fall sharply in the first hours. The timeline shows who gave which figure when.
Many reports mean: many report it. Many independent origins mean: it is widely supported. Something becomes true through evidence, not through volume.
How to read an event
- Independent origins – how many newsrooms independent of each other? Green from 3, yellow 2, orange 1.
- Where do the reports come from? – is a news agency behind it? State media only?
- Official source and measurements – does an authority confirm it, does a sensor measure something (earthquake, fire, storm)? There are no sensors for politics – that is normal.
- Contradictions – do sources give strongly differing figures? Then it is worth reading the original reports.
- Perspectives – how do newsrooms from different countries report the same event?
What AI does here – and what it does not
The situation briefing automatically summarises events with several origins and names its evidence for every point. It is labelled as AI text. Everything else – origins, contradictions, situation index – follows fixed, disclosed rules. All rules: How we work →