Headline Changer Browser Extension

AI-powered browser extension that rewrites misleading headlines with accurate, factual titles in real-time.

Features

• Smart Aggressive Mode: Rewrites visible headlines immediately, lazy loads the rest as you scroll
• 24-hour Cache: Remembers rewrites so you don't reprocess the same headlines
• Multiple LLM Providers: Supports Ollama (local), OpenAI, and Anthropic
• Click to Toggle: Click any rewritten headline to see the original
• Minimal UI: Small green checkmark indicates rewritten headlines

How It Works

1. You visit a news site (CNN, Fox News, NYT, etc.)
2. Extension finds headlines in your viewport
3. Scrapes article content from the page
4. Sends to LLM with prompt to rewrite factually
5. Replaces headline in real-time (2-5 seconds with Ollama, <1s with cloud APIs)
6. As you scroll, more headlines are rewritten
7. Results cached for 24 hours

Installation

Chrome/Edge

1. Open chrome://extensions/
2. Enable "Developer mode" (top right)
3. Click "Load unpacked"
4. Select the headline-changer folder
5. Extension icon appears in toolbar

Firefox

1. Open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox
2. Click "Load Temporary Add-on"
3. Select manifest.json from the headline-changer folder
4. Extension loads (temporary until browser restart)

Configuration

Click the extension icon to open settings:

Ollama (Local - Recommended)

• URL: http://localhost:11434 (default)
• Model: llama3.2:3b or qwen2.5:3b (recommended for speed)
• Pros: Free, private, no API costs
• Cons: Slower (2-5 seconds per headline)

OpenAI

• API Key: Get from platform.openai.com
• Model: gpt-4o-mini (hardcoded)
• Pros: Fast (<1 second), high quality
• Cons: Costs ~$0.01-0.02 per page

Anthropic (Claude)

• API Key: Get from console.anthropic.com
• Model: claude-3-haiku (hardcoded)
• Pros: Fast, good quality
• Cons: Costs similar to OpenAI

Cache Duration

• Default: 24 hours
• Range: 1-168 hours (1 week)
• Stored in browser's local storage

Supported Sites

Currently configured for:

• CNN
• Fox News
• New York Times
• Washington Post
• BBC
• The Guardian
• Reuters
• AP News
• NBC News
• CBS News

To add more sites: Edit manifest.json and add to content_scripts.matches array.

Usage

1. Install and configure the extension
2. Visit a news site from the supported list
3. Headlines rewrite automatically as you browse
4. Click a headline to toggle between original and rewritten
5. Hover over checkmark to see original in tooltip

Performance

With Ollama (Local)

• First viewport: 10-15 seconds (5-10 headlines)
• Scroll down: 10-15 seconds per viewport
• Revisit same site: Instant (cached)
• No API costs

With Cloud API

• First viewport: 2-3 seconds
• Scroll down: 2-3 seconds per viewport
• Revisit same site: Instant (cached)
• Cost: ~$0.01-0.02 per page

Privacy

• All processing happens client-side or via your chosen API
• No data sent to third parties (except your chosen LLM provider)
• Cache stored locally in browser
• You control which LLM service to use

Troubleshooting

Headlines not rewriting

1. Check extension is enabled (click icon, verify checkbox)
2. Verify you're on a supported site
3. Check browser console for errors (F12 → Console)
4. For Ollama: Verify it's running (curl http://localhost:11434)

Ollama connection errors

1. Make sure Ollama is running
2. Check URL in settings (default: http://localhost:11434)
3. Verify model is installed: ollama list
4. Pull model if needed: ollama pull llama3.2:3b

Slow performance

1. Use cloud API instead of Ollama for speed
2. Reduce cache duration to free up storage
3. Use smaller Ollama model (llama3.2:1b)

API errors

1. Verify API key is correct
2. Check you have credits/quota remaining
3. Check browser console for specific error messages

Development

File Structure

headline-changer/
├── manifest.json          # Extension config
├── content.js            # Runs on pages, finds/replaces headlines
├── background.js         # Handles LLM API calls
├── popup.html/js         # Settings UI
├── styles.css            # Minimal styling
└── icons/                # Extension icons (need to create)

Testing

1. Make changes to code
2. Go to chrome://extensions/
3. Click reload icon on Headline Changer card
4. Refresh any open news site tabs
5. Check browser console for errors

Adding New Sites

Edit manifest.json:

"matches": [
  "*://*.cnn.com/*",
  "*://*.yournewsite.com/*"
]

Customizing Prompts

Edit content.js, find rewriteHeadline() method and modify the prompt template.

TODO / Future Improvements

• Create extension icons (16x16, 48x48, 128x128)
• Add site-specific headline selectors for better accuracy
• Implement parallel processing for faster rewrites
• Add statistics (headlines rewritten, API costs, etc.)
• Export/import settings
• Whitelist/blacklist specific sites
• Custom prompt templates
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Dark mode for popup

License

MIT - Do whatever you want with it

Credits

Built by Kiro for John's Book of John project, 2026-01-21