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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Building news ranking and recommendation systems can be tough. There’s a lot of opinion as opposed to news out there. And maybe what seems important in one culture or language is not as important in another. So how should news algorithms work, especially amid the pitfalls of misinformation, disinformation and partisan bias? What is news, anyway?
Teams will prototype a news ranking and recommendation algorithm/service that surfaces articles from existing news and information online from a country of their choice. Information can come from existing news sites, social media platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Reddit… you name it!), or a combination of both.
Parameters, such as defining what qualifies as news, and more about the challenge and factors for evaluation can be found at https://newsq.net/hackathon/ . Our judges come from Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and The Carter Center.
When: March 27, 2020 from 6.30-9p, March 28, 2020 from 8.30a-5.30p
Where: Tech Square Research Square Banquet Hall
Georgia Tech [85 Fifth Street, Atlanta, 30308]
Who: Atlanta-area undergraduate and graduate students (registration required, bring your ID)
Bring: Your computer and creativity!
Register by March 15: https://forms.gle/11vWQeyCQcrGzpPP9
Sponsored by Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, Georgia Tech, and Hacks/Hackers.
Questions? Email hello@newsq.net
