Should I Build It Should I Build It
19 Apr 2025
Politics News

Political fact checking site focused on press communication from the ...

...white house

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

The idea of a political fact-checking site focused on White House press communications falls into a crowded space, which we call the 'Swamp'. There are already 17 similar products, indicating high competition. The engagement for these products is low, averaging only 2 comments per product launch. There's no signal for positive or negative use or purchase from the similar product launches, indicating a generally neutral reception. This category is generally considered a 'Don't build it' area because the existing solutions are mediocre and haven't captured significant user love. To succeed, you'd need to offer something fundamentally different and address the shortcomings of existing solutions to break through the noise.

Recommendations

  1. Given the crowded market and low engagement with existing political fact-checking sites, start by thoroughly researching why these solutions haven't gained traction. Understand their limitations in terms of bias, speed, accuracy, and user experience. For example, criticisms of similar products included concerns about bias and slow fact-checking, as well as questions about handling conflicting information from different sources. Addressing these issues head-on could be a differentiating factor.
  2. Rather than targeting a broad audience, identify a specific niche or underserved group within the political spectrum. For example, you could focus on fact-checking specific types of claims (e.g., economic data, environmental policy) or tailor the platform to a particular demographic (e.g., younger voters, independent voters). By narrowing your focus, you can better tailor your fact-checking process and content to meet their specific needs.
  3. Consider creating tools or APIs for existing news organizations or fact-checking initiatives rather than building a standalone platform. This could involve developing technology to automate certain aspects of the fact-checking process, such as source verification or bias detection. Partnering with established players can provide you with access to a wider audience and valuable resources.
  4. Explore adjacent problems that might be more promising. For example, instead of fact-checking existing claims, you could focus on preventing the spread of misinformation by developing tools to identify and flag potentially false or misleading content before it goes viral. Alternatively, you could focus on educating users about media literacy and critical thinking skills.
  5. Before investing significant time and resources into building this product, test your assumptions and validate your idea with potential users. Create a simple prototype or landing page that demonstrates the unique value proposition of your fact-checking site and gather feedback. Be mindful of the criticism that landing pages are not suitable for Show HN. Address concerns about audience acceptance, the fact-checking of sources, and the handling of controversial stories.
  6. Given the concerns about bias in existing fact-checking sites, develop a clear and transparent methodology for how you select and verify information. Emphasize the importance of objectivity, impartiality, and multiple perspectives. Explicitly state the criteria by which claims are evaluated, and disclose any potential conflicts of interest. This will help build trust with users and mitigate concerns about bias.

Questions

  1. Given the existing concerns around bias and accuracy in political fact-checking, how will you ensure your methodology is transparent, verifiable, and resistant to manipulation, especially when dealing with complex or nuanced issues?
  2. Many fact-checking sites struggle with user engagement. What innovative strategies will you employ to attract and retain users, encouraging them to actively participate in the fact-checking process and share their findings with others?
  3. Considering the speed at which misinformation spreads online, how will you balance the need for rapid fact-checking with the importance of thoroughness and accuracy, ensuring that your site remains a reliable source of information in a fast-paced environment?

Your are here

The idea of a political fact-checking site focused on White House press communications falls into a crowded space, which we call the 'Swamp'. There are already 17 similar products, indicating high competition. The engagement for these products is low, averaging only 2 comments per product launch. There's no signal for positive or negative use or purchase from the similar product launches, indicating a generally neutral reception. This category is generally considered a 'Don't build it' area because the existing solutions are mediocre and haven't captured significant user love. To succeed, you'd need to offer something fundamentally different and address the shortcomings of existing solutions to break through the noise.

Recommendations

  1. Given the crowded market and low engagement with existing political fact-checking sites, start by thoroughly researching why these solutions haven't gained traction. Understand their limitations in terms of bias, speed, accuracy, and user experience. For example, criticisms of similar products included concerns about bias and slow fact-checking, as well as questions about handling conflicting information from different sources. Addressing these issues head-on could be a differentiating factor.
  2. Rather than targeting a broad audience, identify a specific niche or underserved group within the political spectrum. For example, you could focus on fact-checking specific types of claims (e.g., economic data, environmental policy) or tailor the platform to a particular demographic (e.g., younger voters, independent voters). By narrowing your focus, you can better tailor your fact-checking process and content to meet their specific needs.
  3. Consider creating tools or APIs for existing news organizations or fact-checking initiatives rather than building a standalone platform. This could involve developing technology to automate certain aspects of the fact-checking process, such as source verification or bias detection. Partnering with established players can provide you with access to a wider audience and valuable resources.
  4. Explore adjacent problems that might be more promising. For example, instead of fact-checking existing claims, you could focus on preventing the spread of misinformation by developing tools to identify and flag potentially false or misleading content before it goes viral. Alternatively, you could focus on educating users about media literacy and critical thinking skills.
  5. Before investing significant time and resources into building this product, test your assumptions and validate your idea with potential users. Create a simple prototype or landing page that demonstrates the unique value proposition of your fact-checking site and gather feedback. Be mindful of the criticism that landing pages are not suitable for Show HN. Address concerns about audience acceptance, the fact-checking of sources, and the handling of controversial stories.
  6. Given the concerns about bias in existing fact-checking sites, develop a clear and transparent methodology for how you select and verify information. Emphasize the importance of objectivity, impartiality, and multiple perspectives. Explicitly state the criteria by which claims are evaluated, and disclose any potential conflicts of interest. This will help build trust with users and mitigate concerns about bias.

Questions

  1. Given the existing concerns around bias and accuracy in political fact-checking, how will you ensure your methodology is transparent, verifiable, and resistant to manipulation, especially when dealing with complex or nuanced issues?
  2. Many fact-checking sites struggle with user engagement. What innovative strategies will you employ to attract and retain users, encouraging them to actively participate in the fact-checking process and share their findings with others?
  3. Considering the speed at which misinformation spreads online, how will you balance the need for rapid fact-checking with the importance of thoroughness and accuracy, ensuring that your site remains a reliable source of information in a fast-paced environment?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 17
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 2
  • Net use signal: 26.2%
    • Positive use signal: 31.1%
    • Negative use signal: 4.9%
  • Net buy signal: -2.4%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 2.4%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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Kritiki.org domain not working, redirects to bubble.io

Kritiki.org domain not working

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