Locate the News 🌍

AI-Powered Spatial Journalism Platform

Locate the News is a global news mapping application that transforms traditional news consumption into a spatial experience. By integrating Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Mapbox GL JS, it visualizes real-time global events, extracts precise locations from text, and analyzes sentiment to highlight crisis zones.

📸 Screenshots

Global Sentiment Overview	Smart Clustering & HUD
Crisis Detection (Red Alert)	Detailed News Reading

The interface features a custom "Glassmorphism" design with 3D interactions.

🌍 Features

• 🗺️ Interactive Global Map: High-performance 3D visualization using Mapbox GL JS.
• 🔍 NLP-Powered Extraction: Automatic location and entity (GPE) extraction from news articles using spaCy.
• 📊 Sentiment Analysis: Real-time sentiment scoring (Crisis 🔴, Neutral 🔵, Positive 🟢) using TextBlob & VADER.
• 🧩 Multi-Source Integration: Aggregates data from NewsAPI and RSS feeds (BBC, Euronews, TRT World).
• 📍 Intelligent Clustering: Uses Supercluster for efficient multi-level zoom visualization.
• ⚡ Smart Caching: Implements TTL-based caching to optimize API usage.

🛠️ Technologies

Backend (The Intelligence)

• Framework: FastAPI (Python)
• NLP & AI: spaCy (en_core_web_sm), TextBlob
• Data Parsing: Feedparser (RSS), Requests
• Geocoding: Geopy & Custom Caching logic
• Database: SQLAlchemy with SQLite

Frontend (The Visualization)

• Framework: React.js
• Mapping: Mapbox GL JS, react-map-gl
• Styling: Modern CSS with Glassmorphism effects
• Animations: Framer Motion

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Node.js 14+
• A valid NewsAPI Key and Mapbox Token.

Quick Start

1. Backend Setup:

   cd backend
   python -m venv venv
   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate | Mac/Linux: source venv/bin/activate
   
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   python -m spacy download en_core_web_sm  # Crucial: Downloads the NLP model
   
   # Create a .env file and add: NEWS_API_KEY=your_key
   python -m app.main
   

2. Frontend Setup:

   cd frontend
   npm install
   
   # Create a .env file and add: REACT_APP_MAPBOX_TOKEN=your_token
   npm start
   

📂 Project Structure

LocateTheNews/
├── backend/            # FastAPI backend
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── main.py     # Application entry point
│   │   ├── models.py   # Database models
│   │   ├── database.py # DB Connection & Session
│   │   ├── routers/    # API endpoints (events)
│   │   └── services/   # NLP, Sentiment & News Fetching
│   └── requirements.txt
├── frontend/           # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/ # Map, HUD, and Article UI components
│   │   ├── api/        # Axios client & API endpoints
│   │   ├── styles/     # CSS modules for Glassmorphism
│   │   └── App.js      # Main Application logic
│   └── package.json
├── screenshots/        # Project visual assets
├── docs/               # Technical documentation
├── data/               # Local data storage (SQLite DB)
├── docker-compose.yml  # Docker orchestration (optional)
└── README.md

📜 Context & Credits

This project was developed as a graduation/capstone project for the Computer Engineering Department at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University.

Developer: Ceyda Arık

Advisor: Doç. Dr. Barış Ethem Süzek