How we select, analyze, and compare the news from 36 countries. Every step is detailed here.
Each subject published on The Refract follows an automated 4-step process:
THE 4-STEP PROCESS
TRENDING DETECTION
Our algorithms continuously monitor news feeds from 36 countries to identify topics that are simultaneously making headlines across multiple regions of the world.
SOURCE COLLECTION
For each detected topic, we systematically collect articles from 100+ media outlets across our 36 covered countries, balancing public media, independent press, and mainstream press.
COUNTRY-LEVEL SYNTHESIS
AI (Claude, Anthropic) analyzes articles from each country to produce a structured synthesis: dominant angle, key points, tone, detected biases, and cited sources. This is not invented content -- it is synthesis of existing coverage.
COMPARISON AND PUBLICATION
Perspectives are placed side by side, divergences calculated, and everything is published with all sources so readers can verify for themselves.
AI (Claude by Anthropic) is at the heart of our process. We treat it as a consistency tool, not an objectivity one. Every generated analysis is clearly labeled as such.
WHAT AI DOES NOT DO
A French journalist naturally analyzes news through a French lens. An American journalist, through an American lens. It's human nature.
AI allows us to analyze each national coverage with the same analytical framework, without allegiance to any country or editorial line. It's not perfect — no tool is — but it ensures consistency of analysis across all 36 perspectives.
Each analysis is accompanied by its sources so you can verify for yourself.
Our automated pipeline transforms raw news into structured multi-perspective analysis in 6 steps.
THE 6-STEP PIPELINE
SOURCES
170+ RSS feeds from 46 countries, weighted by editorial diversity. France, US, UK, Germany, China, and Russia receive higher weight to reflect their outsized media influence. Feeds span public media, independent press, and mainstream outlets.
DETECTION
A local LLM (Mistral 7B via Ollama) scans aggregated headlines to identify topics trending simultaneously across multiple regions. A deduplication pass prevents covering the same story twice within 24 hours. Over 400 multilingual stop words filter noise.
NARRATIVE ANALYSIS
For each article collected, the LLM extracts: dominant angle, key facts, tone (positive/negative/neutral), and a framing label from our taxonomy of 8 categories. This per-article analysis runs locally at zero API cost.
PERSPECTIVE SYNTHESIS
Claude (Anthropic) aggregates the per-article narratives into one structured perspective per country: dominant angle, key points, detected biases, tone, and source citations. This is the core analytical step.
Each national perspective receives one of 8 framing labels that describe how the country's media frames the story:
ACCUSATORY
Coverage that assigns blame or responsibility to a specific actor, government, or group.
DEFENSIVE
Coverage that justifies, minimizes, or deflects criticism of a specific actor or policy.
FACTUAL
Coverage that focuses on reporting verifiable facts with minimal editorial framing.
NUANCED
Coverage that presents multiple viewpoints, acknowledges complexity, and avoids binary framing.
ALARMIST
Coverage that emphasizes danger, urgency, or worst-case scenarios to provoke concern.
VICTIMIZING
Each national perspective is screened against 10 types of media bias. Here is our analysis framework:
FRAMING
The way a topic is presented influences the reader's perception. The same event can be framed as an economic crisis or a reform opportunity.
OMISSION
What is left unsaid is sometimes more revealing than what is written. Selective omission of facts shapes the reader's understanding.
SENSATIONALISM
Exaggeration of facts or use of dramatic language to capture attention, at the expense of nuance and accuracy.
APPEAL TO FEAR
Use of catastrophic scenarios or threats to influence opinion, often disproportionate to the actual risks.
APPEAL TO EMOTION
Use of emotionally charged testimonies or images to shape opinion without relying on factual arguments.
Each subject displays a divergence gauge that measures how much countries disagree on how the news is covered.
HOW IS IT CALCULATED?
The gauge combines several signals: tone difference (positive/negative/neutral), editorial angle difference (security vs economic vs humanitarian framing), presence of facts mentioned by some countries and omitted by others, and intensity of detected biases.
A score of 0 means total consensus among countries. A score of 100 means radically opposed coverage. Most subjects fall between 30 and 70.
For each country, we analyze a diverse panel of media covering different editorial spectrums:
ARGENTINA
Mainstream press (Clarin, La Nacion), digital media (Infobae), left-leaning press (Pagina/12)
AUSTRALIA
Public media (ABC Australia), national press (The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald), international press (The Guardian Australia)
BRAZIL
Mainstream press (Folha de S.Paulo, O Globo, Estadao), independent media (The Brazilian Report)
CHINA
State media (Xinhua, CGTN, Global Times), official press (People's Daily)
COLOMBIA
National press (El Tiempo, El Espectador), opinion media (Semana), investigative journalism (La Silla Vacia)
EGYPT
State press (Ahram Online), independent media (Mada Masr, Egypt Independent), regional coverage (Al-Monitor)
ETHIOPIA
Independent press (Addis Standard, Ethiopian Reporter), state media (Fana Broadcasting, The Ethiopian Herald)
No analysis tool is perfect. Here is what we acknowledge and what we are aware of:
META-ANALYSIS
A second Claude pass compares all country perspectives to compute: divergence score, geographic blind spots (what some countries ignore), consensus points, and key narrative tensions.
LIMITS
The pipeline covers 46 countries but not the entire world. RSS feeds favor English-language outlets, creating a structural bias toward Anglophone framing. AI synthesis is a simplification -- nuance is inevitably lost. All sources are cited so readers can verify.
Coverage that centers the narrative on suffering, injustice, or victimhood of a specific group.
PRAISING
Coverage that praises, celebrates, or positively frames an actor, policy, or outcome.
CRITICAL
Coverage that questions, challenges, or scrutinizes an actor, policy, or claim with a skeptical tone.
FALSE BALANCE
Presenting two positions as equivalent when the scientific or factual consensus clearly leans to one side.
CONFIRMATION BIAS
Tendency to select and present information that confirms a pre-existing thesis while ignoring contrary evidence.
SOURCE BIAS
Excessive dependence on certain sources (official, anonymous) without diversification or cross-verification.
CULTURAL BIAS
Interpretation of events through the cultural lens of the country, projecting local values onto international situations.
DISINFORMATION
Deliberate dissemination of false or misleading information, whether state propaganda or editorial manipulation.
FRANCE
Mainstream press (Le Monde, Le Figaro), public media (France 24, RFI), independent press (Mediapart)
GERMANY
Reference press (Der Spiegel, Die Zeit), public media (Deutsche Welle, ARD), regional press
INDIA
English-language press (The Hindu, Times of India, NDTV), public media (Doordarshan), independent press (The Wire)
INDONESIA
National press (Kompas, Jakarta Post, Tempo), independent media (Tirto)
IRAN
State media (Press TV, Tehran Times), opposition media (Iran International), independent press (IranWire)
IRAQ
Kurdish media (Rudaw, Kurdistan 24), state agency (Iraqi News Agency), independent press (Iraqi News)
ISRAEL
Reference press (Haaretz), English-language media (Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post), rolling news (i24NEWS)
ITALY
National press (Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica), news agency (ANSA), business press (Il Sole 24 Ore)
JAPAN
National agencies (Kyodo, Jiji), mainstream press (Asahi Shimbun, NHK), business press (Nikkei)
KENYA
National press (Daily Nation, The Standard), regional coverage (The East African), online media (Capital FM)
MEXICO
National press (El Universal, Reforma), independent media (Animal Politico), progressive press (La Jornada)
MOROCCO
Independent press (TelQuel), online media (Le360, Hespress), official agency (MAP)
NIGERIA
Investigative press (Premium Times), national press (The Punch, Vanguard Nigeria), business press (ThisDay)
PAKISTAN
Reference press (Dawn), mainstream media (Geo News, The News International), English-language press (Express Tribune)
PHILIPPINES
National press (Philippine Daily Inquirer), investigative media (Rappler), mainstream press (Manila Bulletin, ABS-CBN News)
POLAND
Public media (TVP World), reference press (Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita), English-language media (Notes from Poland)
QATAR
State media (Al Jazeera), national press (The Peninsula, Gulf Times, Qatar Tribune)
RUSSIA
State media (RT, TASS, RIA Novosti), independent press (Meduza, Novaya Gazeta)
SAUDI ARABIA
State media (Al Arabiya, Arab News), pan-Arab press (Asharq Al-Awsat), local press (Saudi Gazette)
SINGAPORE
National press (The Straits Times), public media (Channel News Asia), online press (TODAY, The Independent Singapore)
SOUTH AFRICA
National press (Mail & Guardian, Daily Maverick, News24), public media (SABC)
SOUTH KOREA
National agency (Yonhap News), English-language press (Korea Herald), progressive press (Hankyoreh), conservative press (Chosun Ilbo)
SPAIN
Reference press (El Pais, La Vanguardia), news agency (EFE), national press (El Mundo)
TAIWAN
English-language press (Taipei Times, Taiwan News), national agency (Focus Taiwan), analytical press (CommonWealth Magazine)
TURKEY
Mainstream press (Hurriyet, Daily Sabah), public media (TRT World), independent press (Bianet)
UKRAINE
State agency (Ukrinform), independent press (Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda), online media (Babel)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Official agency (WAM), national press (The National, Gulf News, Khaleej Times)
UNITED KINGDOM
National press (The Guardian, The Times), public media (BBC), tabloids (Daily Mail)
UNITED STATES
Mainstream (NYT, Washington Post), cable news (CNN, Fox News), independent media (AP, Reuters US)