Many users are drawn to social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to get the latest news.
But more and more people are complaining that misinformation and AI are cluttering their feeds. Concerns about trust are also growing, especially in light of lawsuits against Meta Inc. related to harm to young people and concerns about TikTok’s ownership in the United States. (Trust in traditional news organizations is also eroding; in an October Pew Research survey, only 56% of American adults said they had a lot or some trust in domestic news media.)
SaySo is a new short-form video app designed to deliver hand-picked news from vetted creators and independent journalists. It was released to iOS users in the US and Canada this month after a private beta that began in November.
The app aims to differentiate itself from other platforms by avoiding endless scrolling and offering a more intentional and personalized news experience.
One of SaySo’s standout features is its daily digest. When creating a profile, users can choose topics of interest such as politics, social issues, public health, and crime, and the app will curate a series of videos for users each day. This selection is updated every 20 hours.
To explore a wider range of topics, we have an “Explore” page where users can discover additional content from a variety of creators. SaySo also includes common features such as the ability to follow, like, save, comment, and share others.
In particular, SaySo requires creators to include sources directly within their videos in order to build trust with users. The app also combines human and AI moderation with source verification to ensure content integrity.
“Content is not automatically published,” co-founder and CTO Dion Bailey tells TechCrunch. “Everything goes through a moderation queue, so most issues are caught before they reach our readers. If something slips through and gets flagged, we investigate, address the author directly, and remove it if it crosses the line.”
Additionally, SaySo is developing a “Community Notes” feature. This allows users to participate in the accountability process through a crowdsourced fact-checking approach similar to X and TikTok.
SaySo hired about 30 creators at launch. Among them is Nico Agosta, who first gained attention for his “Stockings on Capitol Hill” video series that cut into the financial dealings of members of the U.S. Congress. There’s also Dr. Victoria, who focuses on topics related to racial justice and social change, and Isabel Ravenna, an independent journalist with bylines in outlets such as National Geographic.
On the issue of remuneration for creators, Ramin Beheshti, CEO and co-founder of SaySo, said: [creators] They join as founding partners and receive stipends from day one. Over the next few months, we will build out a complete monetization infrastructure, and once that revenue is generated, the majority of it will go directly to creators. ” He did not provide details about monetization infrastructure or revenue distribution.
Mr. Beheshti previously served as chief product and technology officer at Dow Jones.
SaySo is the flagship app from Caliber, formerly known as The News Movement. Caliber was founded in 2022 and rebranded in 2025 to focus on social short-form journalism.
“We wanted to build a new kind of news product that helps people, rather than adding to the familiar feeling of overwhelm that many people experience,” Beheshti says. “When we layer this with what building Caliber has taught us about creators and the changing shape of modern media, we believe we have unlocked something very special.”
Looking ahead, the company launched SaySo in the UK in the summer, with plans for further expansion into additional markets this year and into 2027.
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