NewsBreak
 | |
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, California |
| Founder(s) | Jeff Zheng |
| Industry | News Aggregator, News |
| URL | newsbreak.com |
NewsBreak is a local news aggregation platform founded in 2015.[1] It provides a mobile app and website to deliver geographically specific news to users.[2][3] The app was criticized by Reuters and NBC News for containing AI generated and erroneous stories. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, with offices in New York, Beijing and Shanghai.[4][5] NewsBreak is only available in the United States.[6]
History
[edit]NewsBreak (a trade name of Particle Media[7]) was founded by Jeff Zheng. Yi Dian Zi Xun was Particle Media's early investor and divested in 2019.[8][5][6]
Harry Shum, former executive vice president of Microsoft’s AI and Research Group, was appointed chairman of the board at NewsBreak in 2020. He previously led Microsoft’s Bing and MSN groups.[9]
In 2021, Francisco Partners invested in NewsBreak during its $115 million Series C funding round and joined the company's board of directors. NewsBreak focuses on local news distribution using machine learning.[10][11]
Erroneous and AI created articles
[edit]Reuters reported that at least 40 AI-generated stories on the app led to inaccuracies affecting local communities between 2021 and 2024. In at least two instances, this led to the dissemination of incorrect information about the services provided by non-profits, including a food bank in Colorado that "had to turn people away because NewsBreak stated incorrect times of food distributions."[6]
After Reuters contacted NewsBreak to inquire about the erroneous stories, NewsBreak added a notice to its homepage "warning that its content 'may not always be error-free'."[6]
In response to Reuters' reporting, Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Select Committee on China expressed concerns about the app's true purpose and its use of "'opaque algorithms' and artificial intelligence tools to produce news."[12]
NBC News found multiple instances of articles by a NewsBreak contributor which described crimes that never occurred, but linked to GoFundMe pages for non-existent victims and were able to collect funds for them. A spokesperson for NewsBreak stated they do not verify or edit information in user-generated news articles, instead relying on a content moderation system.[13]
Legal matters
[edit]In 2021, NewsBreak settled a lawsuit brought by Emmerich Newspapers for copyright infringement which stated that NewsBreak had republished content without permission.[6]
In 2022, NewsBreak settled a lawsuit brought by Patch Media alleging copyright infringement due to unauthorized republication of their content by NewsBreak for $1.75 million without the admission of wrongdoing.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "在美受追捧的News Break 能否不受中国政府控制？". Voice of America (in Chinese). 2021-06-11. Archived from the original on 2025-03-07. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
- ^ Ha, Anthony (7 January 2021). "Local news app News Break raises $115M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ Liao, Rita (28 May 2020). "Meet News Break, the news app trending in America". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 7 March 2025. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ "又一个TikTok? 美议员担心新闻应用程序NewsBreak的中国背景，呼吁进行严格审查". Voice of America (in Chinese). 2024-06-11. Archived from the original on 2025-03-07. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
- ^ a b Alexandra Alper; James Pearson (8 June 2024). "Some US lawmakers call for more scrutiny of news app NewsBreak over Chinese origins". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Pearson, James (June 5, 2024). "NewsBreak: Most downloaded US news app has Chinese roots and 'writes fiction' using AI". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
- ^ "NewsBreak.com". NewsGuard. Archived from the original on 2025-01-19. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ^ Liao, Rita (2020-05-28). "Meet News Break, the news app trending in America founded by a Chinese media veteran". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
- ^ Bishop, Todd (2020-05-27). "Former Microsoft AI and Bing chief Harry Shum joins fast-growing startup News Break as chairman". GeekWire. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
- ^ "Francisco Invests In News Break". www.themiddlemarket.com. 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
- ^ Ha, Anthony (2021-01-07). "Local news app News Break raises $115M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "US lawmakers call for scrutiny of NewsBreak app over Chinese origins". Voice of America. 2024-06-08. Archived from the original on 2025-03-17. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
- ^ "Crime stories drove readers to GoFundMe campaigns, only the victims didn't exist". NBC News. 2024-03-20. Retrieved 2025-04-27.