A new short-form video app called SaySo launched for iOS users in the United States and Canada this month, aiming to deliver curated news from vetted creators and independent journalists amid growing concerns about misinformation on social media platforms.
Many users increasingly turn to social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to stay updated on news, however complaints about misinformation and AI-generated content cluttering feeds have grown significantly. Concerns about trust have escalated following lawsuits against Meta related to harming young people and debates over American TikTok ownership.
Trust in traditional news outlets has also eroded substantially. A Pew Research study from October found that just 56% of U.S. adults say they have a lot of or some trust in national news media, highlighting a broader crisis in information credibility.
SaySo aims to distinguish itself from other platforms by offering a more intentional and personalized news experience that avoids endless scrolling. The app launched after a private beta that began in November and features approximately 30 creators at launch.
One of SaySo’s standout features is Daily Digest, which allows users to choose topics of interest such as politics, social issues, public health, or crime upon creating a profile. The app then curates a set of videos for users each day, with selections refreshing every 20 hours to provide fresh content without overwhelming users.
An Explore page enables users to discover additional content from different creators across a broader range of topics. SaySo includes typical social features such as the ability to follow others, like, save, comment, and share videos.
Notably, SaySo requires creators to include sources of information directly within their videos, aiming to build trust with users through transparency. The app combines human and AI moderation with source validation to ensure content integrity before publication.
“Content doesn’t auto-publish,” Dion Bailey, co-founder and chief technology officer, explained. “Everything goes through a moderation queue, so most problems are caught before they reach readers. If something slips through and gets flagged, we investigate, address it directly with the creator, and take it down if it crosses the line.”
Additionally, SaySo is developing a community notes feature, allowing users to participate in the accountability process through a crowdsourced fact-checking approach similar to systems used by X and TikTok. This feature would enable users to add context or corrections to videos they encounter.
Among the initial creators are Nico Agosta, who gained attention with his “Stocking the Capitol” video series examining financial dealings of U.S. Congress members, Dr. Victoria, who focuses on racial justice and social change topics, and Isabel Ravenna, an independent journalist with bylines in outlets like National Geographic.
On the question of creator compensation, Ramin Beheshti, SaySo’s chief executive officer and co-founder, said many creators have come on as founding partners and are receiving a stipend from day one. The company plans to build full monetization infrastructure over the coming months, with the vast majority of revenue flowing directly to creators, although Beheshti declined to provide specifics on the revenue split or monetization structure.
Beheshti previously served as chief product and technology officer at Dow Jones, bringing traditional media experience to the short-form video space. His background reflects the app’s ambition to merge journalistic standards with modern content formats.
SaySo is the flagship app of Caliber, formerly known as The News Movement, which was founded in 2022 and rebranded in 2025 to focus on social, short-form journalism. The company’s evolution reflects broader shifts in how audiences consume news content.
“We wanted to build a new breed of news product that helped people, rather than add to the familiar overwhelm so many of us experience,” Beheshti said. “Overlay that with what building Caliber has taught us about creators and the changing shape of modern media, and we believe we’ve unlocked something very special.”
The app’s approach addresses a fundamental tension in modern news consumption: audiences increasingly prefer short-form video content, but existing platforms struggle to balance engagement with accuracy and trustworthiness. SaySo attempts to solve this by creating a curated environment with accountability mechanisms built into the product.
The Daily Digest feature particularly distinguishes SaySo from infinite-scroll platforms by creating natural stopping points and encouraging more mindful news consumption. The 20-hour refresh cycle prevents users from compulsively checking for updates while ensuring content stays relatively current.
However, the app faces significant challenges in a crowded market. Competing against established platforms with billions of users and sophisticated recommendation algorithms requires not just better moderation but also compelling content that keeps users engaged without sacrificing quality.
The requirement for creators to include sources directly in videos represents a notable departure from most social platforms, where sourcing is optional or buried in descriptions. This transparency mechanism could help differentiate SaySo if audiences value verifiable information over viral content.
Looking ahead, the company plans to launch SaySo in the United Kingdom during summer 2026, with further expansion into additional markets throughout this year and 2027. International expansion will test whether the app’s model resonates beyond North American audiences.
