The Sydney Morning Herald has taken an in-depth look at how Apple News is developing. Australia is one of only three countries in which the service is available, the others being the US and UK. The piece outlines the radically different approach Apple has taken to news compared to other tech giants. Its focus is on using human journalists, not algorithms, to curate news, not algorithms, in a bid to improve accuracy. That approach was summed up in a quote from Apple News Editor-in-Chief Lauren Kern:
“Misinformation can come out so quickly and spread so rapidly and that’s something that we take pride in not allowing to happen” says Lauren Kern, the platform’s editor in chief, who is a former executive editor of New York magazine. “Our mantra is that it’s better to be accurate than first.”
Check It Out: Apple News puts Humans First
What are the parameters for “misinformation”? This to me is extremely sketchy. What is worse if I block CNN for example, I get fed stories from more left leaning publications. This is not true of blocking Foxnews. For Apple News to suggest it knows what news is best for me the consumer, is a path I would prefer not to go down.