Kite News

Product status, UX, and features

• The service is acknowledged as “not fully launched” yet; web is usable, mobile apps are planned with roughly the same feature set.
• People like the clean, ad-free design, per-story RSS feeds, and SPA implementation (plain HTML + Alpine.js).
• Requested features: mark-as-read state, topic/keyword and source blocking, word/individual exclusion (e.g., Trump), more languages and RTL support, configurable time windows (3-day, week, month, etc.), “last updated” timestamps, and clearer product positioning within the wider Kagi/Orion ecosystem.
• The experimental “World Tension Index” interests users; how it is calculated and what triggers higher levels is unclear.

LLM-generated news and hallucination risks

• A major thread documents extensive hallucinations in a single “Texas floods” piece: wrong numbers, invented quotes, misattributed causality, mismatched images, fabricated poll results, and inaccurate technical claims.
• Several commenters argue LLMs are fundamentally unsuited for news writing: they produce text that looks plausible but is often wrong, turning the product into a “fake news engine.”
• Some say LLMs might be acceptable for short summaries or significance ranking, but not for narrative news articles. Clear disclosure about AI authorship is requested.

Bias, echo chambers, and geopolitical coverage

• Many perceive the feed as US‑centric and Trump‑heavy, even under “World.” Europeans in particular complain that half their “world” feed is Trump/US.
• Kagi replies that topic prominence follows the volume of global coverage; others want tools to filter out over-covered figures.
• Several users see the source mix as center-right / pro‑market and missing left-wing outlets; others think mainstream sources are still preferable to fringe “alternative” channels.
• Long subthreads debate “echo chambers,” whether exposing people to opposing views is helpful or harmful, and whether centrist moderation is inherently virtuous or sometimes complicit.

Sources, primary material, and compensation

• Users note many stories chain through secondary outlets that themselves rely on wire services (e.g., Reuters). They want primary sources—original studies, press releases, full speeches—surfaced and derivatives grouped beneath.
• Concerns are raised about including propaganda outlets (e.g., earlier RT links) and about Kagi’s use of certain search partners.
• Some ask how, or if, original publishers are compensated beyond attribution.

Business model and company focus

• People are unsure if this will stay free or become part of the paid Kagi bundle; most expect no ads given Kagi’s positioning.
• A subset of paying users worry Kagi is diluting focus: instead of deepening search, it’s building assistants, browsers, and now news; others welcome the broader ecosystem and are happy their subscription funds more tools.