Artifact: A New News App

After departing Facebook in 2008, Instagram’s co-founders have returned with Artifact, a new app focused on giving you a personalized news feed based on your interests.

Being referred to as TikTok but with text, the app will connect you with articles you might be interested in from larger publications like The New York Times, to smaller blogs covering more specific topics that you like. As you click on articles you are interested in and engage with them, the algorithm will pick up and give you more of these types of content.

The app will feature a feed with articles posted by users you follow along with their commentary on the posts. Another tab will allow you to send direct messages privately within the app.

With over half of adults receiving their news on social media according to Pew Research, a social app centered around news could take off quickly and change how we consume our news.

Being a responsible consumer of news is important and this topic is one we cover quite frequently in our blog posts, such as this post from Abbie. While misinformation on social media remains a problem, the founders are ensuring only high-quality news is delivered to users from carefully curated, screened and approved news sources.  However, if Artifact only gives you what you are interested in, are you really getting the whole picture?

These questions are sure to be answered in the coming months as Artifact continues to grow its user base. Will you be downloading Artifact?