SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 ISSUE ONE

MEET THE TEAM NEW IN THE NEWS RESEARCH GUEST POINT OF

FROM THE ATLANTIC, SOCIAL MEDIA AS A VIEW
MERCURY NEWS, AND
SOURCE OF NEWS VIC ZAUD, DESIGN
MORE!

SAPPHIRE UPDATE
A Note From Our CEO

Im thrilled to update you on our progress! In 6 months, weve developed a demo iPhone
app, a 3-year plan, and most importantly, a rock-star team. Sapphire is now comprised
of 5 full-time leaders, 4 part-timers, 4 interns, and 5 engineers both domestic and
overseas.

Sapphire is well on the way to helping young adults make sense of issues in the
news. Were creating a platform that lets anyone read about any facet of any issue. At
the moment, our focus is learning from Post-Millenials; we have interns throughout
the country and have created distribution strategies to reach young adults.

Meanwhile, our engineers continue to develop the AI and Machine Learning algorithms
to make it all happen. Almost everyone on our team is a volunteer.

Why? Personally, Im devoting my time, talent, and expertise to the Sapphire mission
because it is urgent. Imagine youre a 16-21 year old today: youre constantly
connected? How do you make sense of the complex issues facing your country? How do
you make sense of the complex issues facing your world? How do you sort through the
noise and get to the truth?

If, like me, you value the importance of an informed citizenry, help us make sure the
next generation is part of one. With your donation now, we can and we will.

With Gratitude,
Karen Edwards

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Meet The Newest Members Of Our Team!

Sarah Halabe, Intern

Sarah is a sophomore at Wellesley College, majoring in English, and an avid

reader of the news. She has a deep appreciation for free speech and the ability
to see an issue from diverse perspectives. Previously, Sarah has worked for
organizations such as the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, and Mission
Hill- a tutoring and mentoring program serving students in Boston's low-
income neighborhoods.

Inyoung Choi, Intern

Inyoung is a sophomore at Stanford University interested in

journalism, online media, strategic media partnerships and integrated
marketing communications. She has experience writing for The
Stanford Alumni Magazine and managing social media content for the
The Stanford Daily. Academically, she is interested in the ethics of
information technology, online misinformation/ trust, media policy/
culture for youth, freedom of speech and diversity representation in
media.

Beth Rudolph Snyder, Education Outreach

Beth has worked in education at almost every level: From Strategic

Planning and teaching science and math, to Social Emotional Learning
and Conflict Resolution. As a teacher and a parent, she has learned that
young people are our best teachers. She looks forward to learning from
young adults about how we move forward in our divided country. By
listening to students and teachers everywhere, Beth will help Sapphire
learn what matters to them. She studied Biology at UCSB and
Broadcast Journalism at Stanford.

Statistics from the Pew

Research Center, 2015

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 ISSUE ONE

New In The News

In Response To Jean M. Twenges Have Smartphones Ruined A Generation?

As a member of iGen who is active on social media, I resonated with this article more
than Id like to admit. I often catch myself responding to the buzz of my phone at inappropriate
moments, such as in the middle of class, or a conversation. Instants like these seem to confirm
Twenges overlying concern: in an increasingly technologized world, we are always engaged, yet
never fully present. With this paradox comes an enigmatic and relentless sense of disconnect
from the world- one that is experienced not
exclusively, but perhaps most intensely by my
generation.

However, while its true that we are constantly

interrupted, what were being interrupted by
matters. In our current society, news, media, and
opportunities for civic engagement are more
accessible than ever: apps like CNN and Apple
News provide an notification with every breaking
headline. The 2017 Womens March was
coordinated primarily through Facebook. The news
is constantly and quite literally at our fingertips, yet with this advantage comes a seemingly
unstoppable stream of horserace journalism, propaganda, and bias.

As an avid reader who strives to

see issues from different perspectives, I
recognize that the diminishing quality
of the news would be a problem at any
time. However, it is especially pressing
given the many complex issues facing
our nation. I am taking a gap year from
my studies at Wellesley College, and
have been lucky enough to find an
organization called Project Sapphire, a
non-profit technology startup
connecting my generation with credible media sources so we can make sense of issues in the
news, and engage in multiple facets of issues from diverse points of view. I believe in the power
of informed citizenry with the right tools, and with this comes a conviction that the technology
fragmenting our attention can also focus it.

-Sarah Halabe, Sapphire Intern

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New in the News Cont.
Students Duped By Fake News And
Biased Sources, Stanford Study Finds
By QUEENIE WONG, pub. Nov 2016
A recent study released by the Stanford History
Education Group found that middle school and
high school students are easily fooled by biased
sources, ads that resemble news articles, and
even fake social media sites.
The No. 1 skill that kids are going to need in this
21st century is media literacy and the power of
discernment, said Stephen Balkam, founder and
CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute. What
is real and what is not real?
Studies like these prove that even in this day and
age, Sapphires work is more crucial than ever.
However, though young people are vulnerable to
misinformation, there are an increasing amount
of resources to provide guidance in staying
engaged with the news, as well as outlets for
informed and qualified sources.
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Facebook Just Made It Easier To
Tell News Organizations Apart
By BENJAMIN MULLIN, pub. Aug 2017
A frequent complaint from publishers who use
Facebook is that theres no indication of a
storys source. To combat this, Facebook
recently added publisher logos next to articles
in the Trending bar.
By surfacing publisher logos next to article
links, we want to make it easer for publishers
to extend their brand identityto enhance
peoples awareness of the source of contentso
they can better decide what to read and share
-Andrew Anker, product manager at Facebook
When social media sites such as Facebook take
an active role in providing their users with
more information regarding the sources, we
move one step closer to a media environment
where consumers are fully informed and thus
empowered.
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Research: Social Media Sites As Sources of News

A recent study from the Pew Research Center showed that at least 67% of U.S. adults get at
least some news on social media, compared to 62% in 2016. Though Facebook leads as a
news source for Americans (primarily due to its large user base), Twitter, Youtube, and
Snapchat serve as a source of news for an increasing amount of users. Additionally, not
only have Americans grown somewhat in their use of social media for news overall, but
now they are more likely than ever to get news from multiple social media sights.

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Research Cont.

Though social media may seem like an unreliable source, the

increase in the number of people who are using apps such as
Facebook and Snapchat for news demonstrates how many
social media sites are striving to become more informative.

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 SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 ISSUE ONE

Guest Point of View: Vic Zaud, Design Lead

Vic applies prowess for design simplicity in media technologies,

UI optimization, and consumer products. He worked for Steve
Jobs for four years before getting his B.A.

Why are you passionate about working at Sapphire?

I was immediately excited about Sapphire because I felt like technology has created a
terrible problem with too much personalization. Yes, we see what we like to see - and thats a
lovely picture and it helps me to be efficient with reading only what I like, but its also
backfired when it comes to being aware of the rest of the world. We need to fix that - and
make it easy for people to also understand what other people are saying and thinking about
the issues that affect everyone. I know that with design and even better technology - we can
fix this problem.

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