Bias Detector Chrome Extension

Inspiration

We were inspired by how hard it has become to separate fact from opinion online. Each of us had experienced sharing or believing articles that later turned out to be misleading. For our first hackathon, we wanted to build a simple everyday tool that helps anyone quickly check the credibility of what they’re reading.

What it does

Bias Detector is a lightweight Chrome extension that scans any webpage or uploaded text. It identifies its bias direction, estimates how much of it could be fake news, and highlights suspicious phrases directly on the page. In a few seconds, users get a clear snapshot of an article’s credibility.

How we built it

We created a Chrome extension with HTML/CSS/JavaScript for the popup interface and content scripts to extract text and apply highlights. On the backend, we used Spring Boot to receive text, URLs, or files and call the Gemini API for bias and fake-news analysis. The extension normalizes the response and shows clean results in the popup.

Challenges we ran into

This was our first hackathon, so there were plenty of bumps: Getting images/icons to display at the right size and spacing in the popup UI. Parsing and normalizing Gemini’s response format so the frontend stayed consistent. Integrating the backend and frontend smoothly took longer than expected. Debugging the highlighting logic so it wouldn’t pick random single words.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite being newcomers, we built a full stack project under time pressure: A working extension that analyzes whole webpages or uploaded files instantly. Clear, user-friendly display of bias direction and fake-news percentage. Highlights of suspicious phrases directly on the page. A backend that successfully talks to a large language model (Gemini).

What we learned

We learned how to: Structure a Chrome extension using manifest v3, content scripts, and popup messaging. Integrate a large language model into a live application. Handle inconsistent API responses gracefully. Work as a team under tight deadlines and debug on the fly.

What's next for Bias Detector Chrome Extension

Publish it on the Chrome Web Store so anyone can use it. Add credibility scores from fact-checking sources. Upload PDF, Word, or any document with text