AI Research for Journalists

Hallucinated quotes and fabricated citations are a journalism ethics problem, not just a research one. CiteDash is an AI research tool built around the only thing that matters for reporting: every source traces back to something real.

Why journalists need a different AI

General-purpose chatbots fabricate quotes, mis-attribute statements, and invent academic citations. That’s a problem for a student writing an essay; it’s a corrections-page disaster for a reporter on deadline. CiteDash uses a retrieval-first architecture: every claim is grounded in a real paper from a real database, with the source visible to the writer at every step.

Newsroom workflows CiteDash supports

Background research on a beat: get a citation-grounded overview of any field in minutes, not days. Useful when you’re covering a new topic or rotating to a new beat.
Expert sourcing: identify the leading researchers on a topic, with recent papers and institutional affiliations to support cold outreach.
Fact-checking science claims: when a press release says “a new study finds X,” CiteDash can verify whether the study supports the claim — and find the contrary evidence press releases tend to omit.
Long-form synthesis: for evergreen pieces or magazine features, the deeper research modes pull together months of literature into a coherent draft you can fact-check and expand.
Citation accuracy in published pieces: when you cite a study in print or online, CiteDash gives you the authoritative format (DOI, full citation, link to source) that copy editors and fact-checkers can verify in seconds.

What CiteDash will not do

We don’t provide source contact information. Email addresses, phone numbers, and direct quotes are your job, not the AI’s.
We don’t make news judgments. The AI surfaces sources; you decide what’s newsworthy.
We won’t generate quotes or paraphrase sources beyond what their actual papers say. If you need a quote, you call the source.
We won’t replace your editor or fact-checker. AI accelerates research; humans verify.

Hallucination rates: what the data shows

In our preliminary pilot benchmark (500 queries × 6 AI tools, peer-reviewed methodology pending), retrieval-first academic tools fabricated citations at a fraction of the rate of general-purpose chatbots — often by an order of magnitude. The full methodology, per-tool breakdown, and the forthcoming Zenodo-deposited dataset are on our benchmark methodology page.

For journalism, even a one-order-of-magnitude reduction in fabrication is the difference between “corrections in most pieces” and “rare correction.” That’s the editorial bar we built around.

Pricing for newsrooms and freelancers

Freelance journalists typically use our Starter ($9/mo) plan; investigative and feature reporters benefit from Pro ($29/mo). For newsrooms with shared access, multi-seat pricing is available on request — email us at newsroom@citedash.ai for details.

Frequently asked questions

Can I trust AI for journalism research?: Not blindly, and not with general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT. AI hallucinations are a real reporting risk: general-purpose chatbots fabricate academic citations at substantially higher rates than retrieval-first tools in preliminary benchmarks. Tools like CiteDash that use a retrieval-first architecture (search real sources, then generate) reduce fabrication by orders of magnitude — but every claim still needs your own verification before you publish.
How does CiteDash differ from Perplexity for newsroom use?: Both use retrieval-first design. Perplexity is broader (general web) and faster for breaking news. CiteDash is academic-source-first: it pulls from Semantic Scholar, CrossRef, OpenAlex, and PubMed, which is exactly what you want when you're sourcing experts, fact-checking science claims, or building an investigative piece on policy or research.
Can CiteDash help me find expert sources?: Yes. Ask for the leading researchers on a topic and CiteDash returns a ranked list with their recent papers, citation counts, and institutional affiliations — usable for cold outreach. We don't provide email addresses (those need to come from public faculty pages or services like Hunter.io).
What about pricing for freelancers?: Our Starter plan ($9/mo) covers most freelance reporting workflows. The Pro plan ($29/mo) adds higher monthly limits useful for investigative work. Newsroom pricing is available on request — contact us if your team needs shared access.
Will CiteDash work for evergreen / long-form journalism?: It's especially useful for it. Evergreen pieces benefit from the kind of deep research CiteDash is built for — the 'systematic review' depth level can pull together months of background reading in a single afternoon, with verified citations throughout.

Why journalists need a different AI

Newsroom workflows CiteDash supports

Background research on a beat: get a citation-grounded overview of any field in minutes, not days. Useful when you’re covering a new topic or rotating to a new beat.

Expert sourcing: identify the leading researchers on a topic, with recent papers and institutional affiliations to support cold outreach.

Fact-checking science claims: when a press release says “a new study finds X,” CiteDash can verify whether the study supports the claim — and find the contrary evidence press releases tend to omit.

Long-form synthesis: for evergreen pieces or magazine features, the deeper research modes pull together months of literature into a coherent draft you can fact-check and expand.

Citation accuracy in published pieces: when you cite a study in print or online, CiteDash gives you the authoritative format (DOI, full citation, link to source) that copy editors and fact-checkers can verify in seconds.

What CiteDash will not do

We don’t provide source contact information. Email addresses, phone numbers, and direct quotes are your job, not the AI’s.

We don’t make news judgments. The AI surfaces sources; you decide what’s newsworthy.

We won’t generate quotes or paraphrase sources beyond what their actual papers say. If you need a quote, you call the source.

We won’t replace your editor or fact-checker. AI accelerates research; humans verify.

Hallucination rates: what the data shows

Frequently asked questions

Can I trust AI for journalism research?

Not blindly, and not with general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT. AI hallucinations are a real reporting risk: general-purpose chatbots fabricate academic citations at substantially higher rates than retrieval-first tools in preliminary benchmarks. Tools like CiteDash that use a retrieval-first architecture (search real sources, then generate) reduce fabrication by orders of magnitude — but every claim still needs your own verification before you publish.

How does CiteDash differ from Perplexity for newsroom use?

Both use retrieval-first design. Perplexity is broader (general web) and faster for breaking news. CiteDash is academic-source-first: it pulls from Semantic Scholar, CrossRef, OpenAlex, and PubMed, which is exactly what you want when you're sourcing experts, fact-checking science claims, or building an investigative piece on policy or research.

Can CiteDash help me find expert sources?

Yes. Ask for the leading researchers on a topic and CiteDash returns a ranked list with their recent papers, citation counts, and institutional affiliations — usable for cold outreach. We don't provide email addresses (those need to come from public faculty pages or services like Hunter.io).

What about pricing for freelancers?

Our Starter plan ($9/mo) covers most freelance reporting workflows. The Pro plan ($29/mo) adds higher monthly limits useful for investigative work. Newsroom pricing is available on request — contact us if your team needs shared access.

Will CiteDash work for evergreen / long-form journalism?

It's especially useful for it. Evergreen pieces benefit from the kind of deep research CiteDash is built for — the 'systematic review' depth level can pull together months of background reading in a single afternoon, with verified citations throughout.