TheBigPicture

Initial Search
Article Sidebar Description
Compare Views Feature between articles
Common Threads and Connections Analysis
Understanding Differences in Views Analysis

Inspiration

Modern news consumption overwhelms people with volume while quietly reinforcing polarization through algorithmic feeds. Readers are often shown what to think about, but rarely helped to understand how different perspectives relate to one another across a complex issue.

We wanted to build a tool that helps people step back and see the whole board — not just isolated articles, but where viewpoints overlap, where they diverge, and why. That motivation led to TheBigPicture, a perspective-first system designed to map complexity into clarity for students and self-learners alike.

What it does

TheBigPicture is an interactive perspective-mapping tool that helps users understand complex and polarized topics through a structured, visual knowledge graph.

When a user searches a topic, the app dynamically generates:

A central topic node
Sub-topic nodes that break the issue into meaningful dimensions
Article nodes (3–5 per sub-topic) representing distinct perspectives across a 5-point political spectrum

Clicking an article opens a context sidebar that includes:

A detailed bullet-point summary
Clear political-leaning classification
A Compare feature that analyzes how two articles relate to each other

The Compare feature allows users to select any two articles and:

Identify shared facts and common themes
Highlight where articles meaningfully differ in framing or emphasis
Surface areas of common ground, showing where information lines up across perspectives

The goal of Compare is not to decide who is right, but to help users see that many articles agree on core facts even when narratives differ.

How we built it

TheBigPicture is built as a modern, AI-powered web application focused on clarity, performance, and explainability.

Frontend:

Next.js (React)
Tailwind CSS
React Flow

AI & Data:

Gemini 2.5 Flash is fully integrated via API and used in real time
The model generates sub-topics, curated article sets, summaries, and comparison analysis
AI responses are returned as structured JSON and mapped directly into the graph

Design decisions:

The graph is bounded to prevent infinite scrolling and cognitive overload
Articles are intentionally limited to 3–5 high-signal sources per sub-topic
UI elements encourage exploration without overwhelming the user
A legal disclaimer reinforces that the tool is for educational use and encourages source verification

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was balancing depth with usability. Too many articles or comparisons quickly become overwhelming, while too little analysis risks oversimplifying complex issues.

Another challenge was ensuring that the Compare feature produced meaningful insights rather than generic overlap. Extracting real shared facts and real differences — without flattening nuance — required careful prompt design and iteration.

Designing a graph that remained readable as complexity increased also required careful tuning of edge routing, spacing, and sidebar behavior.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Fully integrating Gemini 2.5 Flash for real-time topic generation
Building a visual perspective graph that remains readable and intuitive
Implementing the Compare feature to find shared facts, common themes, and key differences
Creating a bounded UI that avoids information overload
Delivering a complete end-to-end experience for students and self-learners

What we learned

We learned that polarization often isn’t about disagreement on facts, but about differences in framing, emphasis, and values.

By directly comparing articles, we saw how often sources align on core information even when narratives differ. We also learned the importance of constraining AI outputs so they integrate cleanly into real interfaces and support understanding rather than overwhelm it.

What's next for TheBigPicture

Next, we plan to deepen the core insight of the project:

Expanding Compare to analyze claims and evidence more explicitly
Improving common-ground detection across multiple articles
Adding the ability for users to save topics and return to them later
Supporting PDF exports for studying or sharing perspective maps
Continuing UI refinement, accessibility improvements, and performance optimization

Our goal is for TheBigPicture to become a go-to tool for anyone who wants to understand complex issues without losing context or nuance.