Terms of Service
CheckTheNews, L3C Effective date: July 18, 2026
Welcome to CheckTheNews ("CTN," "we," "us"). These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the CheckTheNews iOS app, the CheckTheNews.org website, and our official social media channels (together, the "Service"). By using the Service, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
1. What CTN is (and is not)
CTN is a media-literacy tool. We surface short clips of news coverage side by side so you can compare perspectives and reach your own conclusions. CTN does not tell you what is true, endorse any outlet or viewpoint, or provide professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. News content on the Service reflects the views of the original broadcasters, not CTN.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under 18, you may only use the Service with the consent of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.
3. Your account
You sign up with an email address. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for all activity under your account. Keep your login access secure and tell us right away at support@checkthenews.org if you suspect unauthorized use. We may suspend or close accounts that violate these Terms.
4. The Service is free
The Service is currently free. We do not charge for access, and nothing in the app requires payment. If that ever changes, we will update these Terms and give you clear notice before any paid feature affects you.
5. Your content
Parts of the Service let you contribute content, such as comments, posts, votes, survey responses, and profile details ("User Content"). You own your User Content. By submitting it, you grant CTN a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, display, reproduce, and distribute it as needed to operate, promote, and improve the Service. This license ends when you delete your content or account, except for content already shared with others or retained for legal reasons.
You are responsible for your User Content. Do not post anything you do not have the right to share.
6. Community rules
CTN exists to inform, not inflame. When using the Service, you agree not to:
Harass, threaten, or defame others
Post hate speech, incitements to violence, or sexually explicit material
Impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation
Post spam, scams, or deceptive content, including deliberate disinformation
Upload malware or attempt to breach, probe, or overload our systems
Scrape, harvest, or bulk-download content or user data without our written permission
Use the Service for any unlawful purpose
We may remove content or restrict accounts that violate these rules, at our discretion, with or without notice.
7. News clips and third-party content
The Service displays short excerpts of television news broadcasts and other third-party media. These clips remain the property of their respective owners. CTN uses them for purposes of commentary, criticism, comparison, and media-literacy education, which we believe constitutes fair use under U.S. copyright law. CTN does not claim ownership of third-party content, and the presence of a clip does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by the original broadcaster.
8. Copyright complaints (DMCA)
We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice to support@checkthenews.org that includes:
Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed
Identification of the material you want removed and where it appears on the Service
Your name, address, telephone number, and email address
A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf
Your physical or electronic signature
We will review valid notices, remove or disable access to infringing material where appropriate, and may terminate repeat infringers.
9. CTN's intellectual property
The Service itself, including our name, logo, design, software, and original content we create, belongs to CheckTheNews, L3C and is protected by law. We grant you a limited, personal, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service as intended. You may not copy, modify, resell, or create derivative works from the Service without our written permission.
10. Feedback
If you send us ideas or suggestions, you agree we can use them without restriction or compensation. We appreciate them either way.
11. Future features
We are actively building. Features such as following other users, messaging, contrast views, and bias transparency tools may be added, changed, or removed over time. These Terms apply to new features when they launch, and we may publish additional guidelines for specific features.
12. Disclaimers
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any content, including news clips, framing signals, transcripts, or summaries, is complete or accurate.
13. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, CheckTheNews, L3C and its members, managers, employees, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of data, goodwill, or profits, arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service will not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars ($100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these may not apply to you.
14. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless CheckTheNews, L3C from claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your User Content, your use of the Service, or your violation of these Terms or any law.
15. Termination
You can stop using the Service or request account deletion at any time by emailing support@checkthenews.org. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms or if we discontinue the Service. Sections that by their nature should survive (including 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 16) survive termination.
16. Dispute resolution
Talk to us first. Before filing any claim, contact us at support@checkthenews.org and give us 30 days to try to resolve the issue informally. Most problems can be solved this way.
Arbitration. If we cannot resolve a dispute informally, you and CTN agree to resolve it through binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court.
Class action waiver. Disputes will be resolved only on an individual basis. Neither party may participate in a class action or class-wide arbitration.
Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing support@checkthenews.org within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, with your name and a statement that you opt out of arbitration.
Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of [STATE], without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
17. Apple App Store terms
If you use the app on an Apple device: these Terms are between you and CTN, not Apple. Apple has no obligation to provide support or maintenance for the app and is not responsible for any claims relating to it, including product liability, legal or regulatory compliance, or intellectual property claims. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you. Your use of the app must also comply with the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions.
18. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and notify you through the Service or by email. Continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.
19. Contact
CheckTheNews, L3C support@checkthenews.org https://www.checkthenews.org