How to Use
A reader's guide to installing our Chrome extension and analyzing the news on a transparent, data-based scale.
Installing the Chrome Extension
Augmented Media Literacy works directly inside your web browser as you read the news. Installing our verified extension takes less than a minute through the official Chrome Web Store.
Search for the Extension
Use the search bar at the top left of the store to type in "Augmented Media Literacy".
Add to Chrome
Select our extension from the list and click the blue "Add to Chrome" button located at the top right of the page.
Confirm and Pin
When the permissions pop-up appears, click "Add extension". For the best experience, click the puzzle piece icon in your Chrome toolbar and pin Augmented Media Literacy for easy access.
Launching the Extension
Augmented Media Literacy only reads a page when you ask it to. Open a news article, click the toolbar icon and choose "Analyze this page", or right-click the page and choose "Analyze with Augmented Media Literacy". To have the panel ready on a favorite news site, choose "Always show on" that site in the toolbar menu.
Is this news?
The extension first checks that the page is a news article. On a shopping site, search page, or home page, it tells you so instead of running an analysis.
On-Demand Analysis
In the side panel, click "Analyze this article", and the extension will analyze the page, comparing headlines, analyzing tone, and separating viewpoints in seconds.
The Analytical Toolkit
Our tools never tell you what to think. They measure every article on the same transparent, data-based scale and highlight how a story is constructed, so you can decide for yourself.
Clickbait and Headlines
Publishers often use different headlines for different audiences — sometimes using a calm title on their home page while testing sensational, click-driven headlines on social media or search engines. We compare three distinct headline tiers simultaneously:
- On-Page Headline: The main title visible when you read the article.
- SEO Search Title: The headline optimized to attract clicks on search engines.
- Social Share Title: The headline embedded in metadata for sharing on social platforms.
The 7-Category Engagement Taxonomy
When evaluating headlines, the extension checks against seven standard psychological engagement hooks. Inside the extension, you can hover over any of these categories for interactive definitions and examples:
Emotional Language
Objective reporting relies on verifiable facts rather than dramatic adjectives or subjective framing. This tool evaluates the distribution of emotive language across an article with complete transparency.
Dual-Metric Word Counts
We calculate emotional density using two distinct measurements: the article as a whole vs. the reporter's own narrative voice. To ensure complete clarity, we display exact fractions (e.g., "52 out of 1,146 words"), allowing you to see exactly how much emotion comes from external quotes versus authorial commentary.
Observational Tone
Rather than labeling an article as "good" or "bad," the extension provides a strictly observational summary of where subjective words appear (e.g., highlighting when dramatic terms like "combative" or "fiery" are used to frame an event).
"Emotion does not make reporting inherently invalid, but measuring its density is a powerful indicator of how subjective or narrative-driven an article is."
Sources and Viewpoints
A well-balanced article incorporates multiple perspectives. However, simply quoting ten different people does not mean an article is balanced if all ten people agree. The extension separates people from ideologies.
An exhaustive extraction of every human speaker, official organization, or document cited in the text.
We group quoted sources by the actual arguments or ideological stances they represent, showing true perspective diversity.
A visual donut chart and data table displaying the exact percentage of text volume dedicated to representing each viewpoint.
Consensus
Coming soonWhat is Augmented Media Literacy Consensus Analysis?
When a major news event breaks, our editors track how it is reported across the wider media landscape. For each tracked event, the Consensus tab shows where publishers use the exact same words (Lexical Consensus) and where they report the same facts in different words (Semantic Consensus), across thousands of articles. This helps you separate the facts outlets agree on from publisher-specific spin.
Our Editorial Criteria
Like editors of a major publication, we focus our computational resources on the news that is significantly impacting the world each day. Our team selects 1 to 5 major events per day for deep consensus analysis based on strict criteria:
- Volume & Velocity: The topic must generate more than 500 distinct articles across the media landscape within a 48 to 72-hour window.
- Substance: We filter out brief updates and wire summaries, focusing our analysis on articles containing more than 300 words.
- Complex Framing: We prioritize events that trigger multiple points of view, diverse opinions, and debated narratives.
Lexical Consensus: Identifies when independent reports use the exact same verbatim words, which often indicates reliance on a single shared press release or wire service.
Semantic Consensus: Identifies when multiple outlets confirm the same underlying factual meaning, even if described using completely different words.
Interactive Reading Features
We designed our interface to respect your vertical screen space and seamlessly integrate into your normal reading routine.
In-Page Highlighting
When analysis is complete, the extension gently highlights potential emotional words directly within the article text using soft purple underlining. Hover your mouse over any highlighted word on the page to see an instant tooltip explaining its linguistic framing and identifying who spoke it.
Collapsible Accordions
To keep long articles from overwhelming your screen, detailed breakdowns — such as individual word cards, full source tables, and headline tier comparisons — start neatly tucked inside collapsible drawers. Click any section header to expand or close the details as you explore.
Educational Tooltips
Anytime you encounter a technical media literacy term inside the extension — such as "Curiosity Gap" or "Challenge to Ego" — the text is underlined with dotted formatting. Hovering over the term opens a floating educational guide with definitions and real-world examples.
Ready to Go?
Get the extension