READ | FLAG
is a browser extension that meets readers where they are, which is increasingly on hyperpartisan pages reading a perpetual cycle of news that reaffirms their biases. Instead of relying on traditional news outlets to let readers know what is and isn’t “fact,” READ|FLAG enables users to “flag” news articles for misleading, or inaccurate content and to share existing flags on social media.
READ|FLAG’s flagging system allows users to continue reading their news on their favorite sites, but it also pushes potential discrepancies to the forefront, symbolized by a flag on the content the user is reading. This way users have the choice to engage, or ignore without ever leaving the page they are on. The process to create flags is scaffolded to reflect the importance that traditional journalism verification methods put on sourcing and explaining claims. READ|FLAG users are ambient journalists and contribute to the evolving story, helping foster media literacy skills and ultimately contributing to journalisms loftier goals of verification.
From the beginning | Prototypes
Design software: Adobe Photoshop, Sketch
READ | FLAG started out as an end of semester group project in a grad school class. For a few years I'd mulled over the idea of a way to overlay news with additional context and depth and was fortunate that my fellow group members were interested in exploring the idea further. Initially I wasn't sure how this could be implemented, so the original design called for a Facebook plugin (which defied logic) but in subsequent iterations it was developed as a browser extension. READ |FLAG has gone through countless redesigns, a few of which are shown below.
How many ways can you create a flag . . .
. . . and what would a flag even look like?
User Research
Along the way I've conducted user research through both formal and informal channels. From Facebook polls, to surveys, to think-a-louds navigating InVision App clickable prototypes, potential users have been the driving force behind my design.
. . . and the logic behind it all
Final Iteration
Tested a prototype Google Chrome Extension that allowed users to sign up with READ|FLAG and both view and create flags on a limited number of news sources.