Introducing Semafor Signals

Semafor is launching a new, global multi-source breaking news feed called Signals, in which journalists, using tools from Microsoft and Open AI, offer readers diverse, sophisticated perspectives and insights on the biggest stories in the world as they develop.

Signals responds to the deep and continuing shifts in the digital media landscape and the post-social news moment, and to the risks and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence.

Semafor launched in 2022 to address a crisis among media consumers, at once overwhelmed by information and searching for trusted sources. Our “Semaform” articles, which separate news and opinion, and our newsletters and events seek to provide both trusted information and vital, diverse insights. We’re applying that same intention to Signals, which we believe serves consumers eager to understand breaking news better than the rapid-fire, incoherent live online coverage that’s aimed more at search rankings than human understanding.

For a decade, news organizations have raced to turn press releases and wire alerts into “stubs” of stories and called out “First” on Twitter or Google, or moved a splinter of information from Twitter or email to the web. But what felt novel in 2013 is almost irrelevant to the challenges news consumers face a decade later: They are hungry for the authoritative information that social media no longer provides, and for the array of perspectives from around the world that no single source will give you.

Like our innovative Semaform story structure, which clearly distinguishes between facts and analysis, Signals organizes information to bring both clarity and perspective to complex breaking news stories. Our journalists around the globe identify the central facts of a story, then curate the key analysis and insight from a global range of news sources — including different, sometimes opposing, views on the same piece of information.

In this, they’re aided by AI tools that help them search news sources across multiple languages and geographies, allowing them to extend their reach to bring more, and more diverse, perspectives to readers. When tapping into these AI research tools, our editors then evaluate and verify sources, compose summaries, and clearly cite and link readers to the original information.

No news organization has a monopoly on the facts or the smartest analysis — no matter what any of them claim. There’s great journalism and insight everywhere, even if it can sometimes be hard to find. Signal is Semafor’s answer to that simple fact: We’ll bring you the best of the world’s reporting, succinctly summarized and clearly organized.

You’ll be able to get Signals on our destination homepage, in our Flagship newsletter, and across our products.

In an increasingly polarized world and accelerating news cycle, where a cacophony of voices battle for attention, Signals can help readers cut through the noise, see the world through different eyes, and gain more clarity and understanding of the day’s most important issues.