How it works
Open any YouTube video
Navigate to any video on youtube.com.
Analysis loads
MediaGuard fetches the transcript (or captures tab audio if no captions). Mistral analyzes for manipulation techniques.
Segment markers appear
Colored bars on the progress bar: orange = manipulation, blue = fact-check claim.
Hover or play into a segment
A floating panel shows the technique name, quoted excerpt, and explanation.
Screenshots
Features
Non-intrusive UX
SponsorBlock-style segment markers on the timeline plus a contextual overlay when playback enters a manipulation segment.
Crowdsourced improvement
Add context to segments; Mistral augments annotations for future viewers.
Privacy-conscious
STT realtime — Transcribe tab audio in real time with ElevenLabs or Mistral Voxtral. Your API keys never leave your device.
14 techniques
Academic taxonomy from PRTA, SemEval-2020 Task 11, and PropaInsight (COLING 2025). Vote on annotations.
Techniques we detect
MediaGuard identifies 14 rhetorical manipulation techniques. Here's what the floating panel shows when you hover or play into a segment:
Appeal to Authority
Using experts, institutions, or credible-seeming persons to lend weight to a claim.
"Dr. Smith, a renowned epidemiologist from Harvard, stated that the vaccine is completely safe."
Loaded Language
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence perception. Slanted vocabulary that triggers emotional responses.
"The brutal regime cracked down on protesters."
Appeal to Fear/Prejudice
Using fear, prejudice, or other strong emotions to influence the audience. Includes dramatic descriptions, catastrophic scenarios, or implicit threats.
"If we don't act now, economic collapse is imminent. Millions will lose their jobs."
Black-and-White Fallacy
Presenting two alternatives as the only possibilities when more options exist. False dilemma or false binary.
"You are either with us or against us. There is no middle ground."
Bandwagon, Reductio ad Hitlerum
Bandwagon: suggesting everyone supports a position. Reductio: comparing something to Hitler or Nazism to discredit it.
"Polls show 90% of Americans support this policy. Join the majority."
Research-backed
Built on academic definitions and benchmarked on a 50-item gold-annotated evaluation set.
Read methodology →Videos without captions?
Use the STT app to capture tab audio, transcribe in real time (ElevenLabs or Mistral Voxtral), then send to MediaGuard for analysis. You can also add context to segments — Mistral augments annotations for future viewers.
Install
Requires a Mistral API key (free tier available). Your key is used only on your device.
Or load unpacked from the extension folder for development.