Forensic Media Evaluation — ambient article scoring on every news page you read.
Users
11
−2 in 30 days
Rating
5.0 / 5
unchanged in 30 days
Ratings
1
0 in 30 days
Store rank
#185K
#154K among extensions
Version
3.5.6
updated 9 Jul 2026
Users
monthly, 7 months
Latest, 15 Oct 2026:11 usersMove the mouse over the chart for any month
Ratings count
monthly, 7 months
Latest, 15 Oct 2026:1 ratingsMove the mouse over the chart for any month
The Chrome Web Store rounds user counts down to the leading digit, so the user line moves in steps. The ratings count is exact and is the better signal of real adoption.
About Rhetoric Audit
Rhetoric Audit — PhD-Level Forensic Media Analysis in Your Browser
Ver: 3.5.6
Detect bias, propaganda, logical fallacies & strategic omissions — 15 diagnostic metrics in 2–5 seconds.
Rhetoric Audit is a production-verified forensic media analyzer that reads what an article says AND how it's engineered to manipulate you. Click the floating pill on any news article and receive a full forensic report instantly.
**What's new in v3.5.6**
Security & permissions release.
— Removed unused `scripting` permission (declared but never called — flagged in Chrome Web Store review)
— XSS hardening: all LLM-generated strings in the analysis panel are now HTML-escaped before rendering
— Permissions reduced to minimum necessary: `activeTab`, `storage`, `contextMenus` only
**What's new in v3.5.5**
This release upgrades the forensic engine to FME V20 — a unified single-call pipeline replacing the previous multi-stage system. Analysis is now faster, more consistent, and covers every article regardless of site structure.
New engine:
— FME V20 powered by GPT-4.1 Nano
— Universal article extraction via Mozilla Readability.js (now correctly analyses Reuters, EcoWatch, Hindustan Times, and other sites that use non-standard paragraph markup)
— Confidence score visible in the panel header at all times
Improved detection:
— Smarter content filter: category/hub pages (e.g. bbc.com/news/world) are no longer incorrectly scanned
— Subscription and account pages (e.g. pricing, userplan) blocked from triggering
— Reduced false negatives on legitimate news articles
Panel improvements:
— Evidence Quality score (replaces Evidence Validity Index) with calibrated anchors
— Factual Grounding removed (was not performing external verification — replaced by honest Evidence Quality signal)
— Heatmap now visible for all V20 scans
— Classification confidence shown as a header pill
Permissions:
This extension requests the minimum permissions necessary. v3.5.2 reduces permissions versus v3.5.0 — the `scripting` permission has been removed entirely. The only permissions requested are `activeTab`, `storage`, and `contextMenus`. The optional `clipboardWrite` permission is never used automatically — it only activates when you explicitly click the copy button.
**WHAT YOU GET:**
🎯 **Bias Spectrum Mapping** — Precision placement from Far Left to Far Right (not binary labels). Every score backed by reasoning.
💣 **Propaganda Index** — Quantifies emotional loading, manipulation tactics & ideological engineering (0–100%).
🚨 **24 Logical Fallacies** — Detects Ad Hominem, Strawman, False Dichotomy, Loaded Language, and 20 more — with exact quoted evidence.
🔇 **Strategic Silence** — Reveals what's deliberately omitted: missing counter-evidence, absent perspectives, ignored context.
😨 **Emotional Resonance Triad** — Separate Fear / Hope / Urgency scores to see what emotion the article targets.
📊 **Evidence Quality Index** — Verifiable data vs. anecdotal claims.
🧠 **Intellectual Depth (DOK)** — Webb's Depth of Knowledge framework (DOK-1 through DOK-4).
👁️ **Intent Transparency** — Is the author informing or obfuscating? (0–100).
✍️ **Source Reliability** — Author credibility based on citation patterns and epistemological humility.
🎭 **Narrative Archetype** — Hero Focus, Scapegoat Focus, or Victim Focus?
🏛️ **Philosophical Frame** — The underlying ideological lens of the piece.
**ACCURACY:**
- ✅ **100% band-accuracy** on 14-article production test suite (all 5 content strata)
- ✅ **Zero hallucinations** — all evidence quoted directly from article text
- ✅ **$0.003/article cost** — efficient ensemble model with fallback chain
- ✅ **Production-verified May 2, 2026** — 3 calibration patches deployed live
**HOW IT WORKS:**
1. **Install** the extension (free, no API key)
2. **Sign up** with email or Google (10 free analysis credits, no card required)
3. **Browse any news article** — a floating pill appears in the bottom-right corner
4. **Click the pill** → forensic panel opens in sidebar
5. **Export to PDF** for sharing or research
**FEATURES:**
✨ **Ambient Scanning** — Pill auto-appears on news articles (no manual trigger needed)
📄 **PDF Export** — Save full forensic reports with charts, claims ledger, and forensic synthesis
📊 **Dashboard Sync** — All analyses sync to your Rhetoric Audit dashboard
🔒 **Private** — Your analyses stay in your account; zero data sharing
⚡ **Fast** — 2–5 second analysis, even on long-form articles
**WHO IT'S FOR:**
🎓 **Researchers & Academics** — Pre-coded rhetorical analysis; save hours in literature reviews and media criticism
📰 **Journalists & Fact-Checkers** — Verify narrative framing, not just factual claims
📋 **Policy Analysts** — Track media framing on policy topics in real time
👁️ **Critical Readers** — Read ANY article with forensic clarity, not blind trust
🛡️ **Skeptics & Media Literacy Educators** — Teach students to detect bias & manipulation
**TECHNICAL:**
✅ Manifest V3 compliant
✅ Minimum permissions — `scripting` removed in v3.5.2; only `activeTab`, `storage`, `contextMenus` requested
✅ No inline scripts or eval()
✅ Content Security Policy enforced
✅ XSS-hardened panel — all dynamic content HTML-escaped before rendering
✅ CORS-validated API
✅ Rate-limited (anonymous: 10/day, free tier: 30/day)
✅ Supabase Row-Level Security — you only access your own analyses
**WHAT'S NEW IN v3.4.0:**
- Production API endpoint verified (www.rhetoricaudit.com)
- V19.1 forensic engine deployed (100% accuracy, 5 strata, MAE 2.5)
- Ambient floating pill on all news pages
- PDF export with full charts & claims ledger
- Dashboard sync for scan history
- Google OAuth + email sign-up
- Anon quota: 10 free analyses; sign up to unlock 30/day free tier
**PRIVACY & SECURITY:**
📋 [Privacy Policy](https://www.rhetoricaudit.com/privacy)
⚖️ [Terms of Service](https://www.rhetoricaudit.com/terms)
🌐 [OpenAPI Spec](https://www.rhetoricaudit.com/openapi.json)
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Update: We have updated our privacy policy at https…