News startup informed helps tech and business leaders counter misinformation related to the war in Ukraine
Due to the urgency of the war in Ukraine, Berlin-based informed is partnering with European tech and business leaders with personal ties to the country to counter misinformation related to the Russian invasion.
More than 100 influential Ukrainian voices are taking up the fight against fake news about the war, leveraging the innovative app to share hand-picked articles with their audiences.
The contributors that will curate reading lists with news from trusted sources include:
- Iuliia Mendel (former spokesperson to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy)
- Tatjana Kiel (CEO of KLITSCHKO Ventures; Advisor to Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko)
- Ana Chubinidze (Founder & CEO of AdalanAI)
- Olga Filipova (Co-Founder & CEO, of Workademy)
- Regina Overchyk (former Acceleration Manager at Seedstars)
- Anastasiia Panchak (E+H Attorneys-at-Law), and others.
Human-curated read lists to be better informed about the war in Ukraine
The informed app enables its users to access the most trusted news sources in the world, including leading media brands like The New York Times, The Economist and Financial Times. Based on the curation of informed’s own editorial team and the in-app recommendations of leading online creators and experts, readers can explore and take deep dives into the topics that matter most. The key premise on which informed is being built is the power that decentralized human curation can bring to the news industry, which in the past has increasingly been altered by algorithms and ‘filter bubbles’.
In an unjust war that is also being raged on social media platforms and influenced by Russian misinformation attacks, the need for trustworthy reporting has never been bigger. The chosen contributors will help to debunk specific fake news by sharing sources with their audiences that are credible and authentic. By enabling influential voices with ties to Ukraine to share stories that offer genuine insights, informed wants to support the Ukrainian people in their fight for independence and freedom and give its users a better understanding of the current situation.
A safe haven for news consumption, working with top brands and personalities in journalism
After closing a 5M€ seed round from HV Capital and 468 Capital, informed is exclusively sharing a first look into its product with the current initiative. The news platform is in open beta and will be launched in late 2022.
Founded in 2021 by Benjamin Mateev (ex-Wunderlist, Microsoft), Martin Kaelble (ex-Capital, Financial Times), and Axel Bard Bringéus (ex-Spotify, EQT Ventures), informed was born as a response to ‘news overwhelm’ and the growing spread of misinformation online.
Founder bios
Benjamin Mateev was a lead engineer on the to-do list platform Wunderlist which was later acquired by Microsoft, where he spent several years as Product Lead for digital memory and to-do experiences. Earlier, he was also head of product at opinion news site The European where he gained experience with editorial products.
Martin Kaelble was head of digital and online editor-in-chief at Germany’s biggest business monthly Capital, where he gained a lot of experience with digital editorial products and paid products, also building Capital’s first paywall. Before becoming a journalist (first at the German branch of Financial Times), he spent several years in tech, for example at the well-known European startup Jamba.
Axel Bard Bringéus joined Spotify in an early phase and essentially shaped their rapid global expansion, as he was rolling out the company in Europe, Asia, LatAm and ultimately became the global head of markets. After that he worked as a startup investor, being a deal partner at prominent European fund EQT Ventures. In his early career, he also worked as a journalist for a short period of time at Svenska Dagbladet in his home country Sweden.
The startup is collaborating with leading publishers such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Reuters and Foreign Policy to help people stay up to date with one simple subscription. Beyond its own editorial team, informed is already working with more than 600 business leaders, politicians, journalists, innovators and opinion leaders in the DACH region to curate reading lists on topics such as climate change, politics, and gender equality.
Most recently, top industry veterans such as Katharine Weymouth (former CEO of The Washington Post), Lionel Barber (former Editor-in-Chief of The Financial Times), and Bill Emmott (former Editor-in-Chief of The Economist), have joined the company’s advisory board. Informed aims to establish a 5-people advisory board as diverse as possible, representing a variety of different perspectives to guarantee the highest journalistic standards for its digital product.