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# What a root is
- URL: https://blog.rooted.news/what-a-root-is/
- Published: 2026-11-05T06:37:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-05T06:37:29.000Z
- Description: One story, many outlets: how Rooted groups the news and why the count matters.
- Author: Dominick Skinner
- Tags: Explainers

Most news apps show you one article at a time. Rooted shows you the story, and every independent newsroom that covered it.

## One story, many roots

When two or more outlets report on the same thing, Rooted groups their pieces into one story. Each outlet on that story is a root. A story with 14 roots means 14 independent newsrooms covered it, from national nonprofits to a city weekly.

The count tells you something a single headline cannot. A story with two roots is just being noticed. A story with twenty is one independent journalism agrees matters.

## How the grouping works

Rooted reads 337 newsrooms' feeds every 15 minutes. It compares each new piece with the others from the last few days, looking at the distinctive words they share and what they are about. Pieces that clearly describe the same event join the same story. Pieces that only share a big topic, like the election, stay apart.

Grouping is automatic, so it is sometimes wrong. If two different stories end up together, or one outlet's piece is missing, use **Report a problem with this story** at the bottom of any story page.

## Reading a story

- The **Roots** tab shows every outlet's piece in full card form. Tap a headline to read it on the outlet's own site.
- The **Timeline** tab shows who published when.
- **Outlet posts** collects what the outlets said about it on Bluesky and Mastodon.
- The plus on each outlet's logo follows that outlet. It turns into a tick.

Follow a story and you will hear when more outlets pick it up.