How It Works

A Platform for Contextualizing the News

Unvarnished is a platform to find, read, and share context for the news. This context is critical to understanding fast-moving events. Is the leader trustworthy? Is the analysis credible? Are there historical parallels that can help us evaluate current events? These are the kinds of questions that Unvarnished helps to answer.

Context about a particular topic is organized into “threads” of evidence that are clear and easy to read. We’re starting with quotations and images, but will be adding more evidence types as we grow.

Open to All

Everyone can read and share threads on Unvarnished. There’s no paywall – it’s completely free and no account is necessary.

Anyone can author threads on Unvarnished, too – although that does require a free account. We know that experts can come from all walks of life, and believe that threads should stand on their strength of their evidence, not adherence to any ideology.

Simple Thread Authoring

To author a thread, create an account by clicking “Log In / Register” in the main menu. Accounts are free and require only a username, password, and email address.

Threads themselves only take a title, a brief description, and the supporting quotations (text, speaker, and source) to post. (At present, all quotations must be entered manually, but as we build the site we expect to create a database and also automate the process of capturing new quotations.) They will be posted to Unvarnished, ready to be read here or shared anywhere people are getting news.

Quality First

Validated Content

Unvarnished validates all quotes to confirm that they are genuine, accurate, and not presented in a misleading way. Threads are reviewed to ensure they provide a reasonable and accurate framing. As we build out the site, we will add to our review and moderation processes, including opportunities for community and expert input.

Although we are not partisan, we are strong advocates for quality, credible information. Most social media sites have simply declared a free-for-all: no lie is too blatant, no attack is too scurrilous. These rich companies try to justify their craven and greedy dereliction of duty as a noble attempt to build the “digital town square.” As a result, their town square is full of raving lunatics and ranting conspiracy theorists. Unvarnished goes the other way; we believe that a strong review process is not only compatible with a rapid news cycle but essential to any genuine trust and understanding of the news.