There are a few topics that are generally considered taboo in the modern office environment. Whereas it’s okay to talk about the football, the Jurassic World movie or your favorite flavor cheesecake, straying in to politics is often one of those “no go” areas. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could specify certain news stories as banned from your web browser, so that you can enjoy your lunchtime browsing session without seeing articles or just the headlines discussing the state of American politics? As there’s a Presidential Election in the United States of America next year, so many websites will increasingly carry election-heavy content. The good news is that if you’re a Google Chrome browser user, you can download and set up a free Google Chrome extension designed to clean your favorite news and social media websites from any mention of 2016 American politics and the presidential election.
The extension is cunningly named, “I haven’t got time for the ‘Paign” and is available from the Chrome store. Did I mention it was free? When you first install and run the extension, the extension asks you how long you would like to keep your browser free of 2016 American politics. You can specify a time from between now to next year, or from now until after the election is over. The extension filters out political content from a number of websites, which currently includes: Twitter, Facebook, Slate, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, Huffington Post, Vox, The Atlantic and Vice. When it filters an article, the extension lets you know with a built-in counter so you can see how effective things are. The extension cannot filter out content away from these sites. However, as a bonus feature when you set up the extension you can also pick other keywords to block such as “New York Mets.” It’s a nifty way to keep your news feed clean of stories you are not interested in. However, should you wish to visit political content on these websites, a quick click of the extension’s icon will temporarily disable the political filter on your browser.
As the build up to the 2016 American election gains momentum, “I haven’t got time for the ‘Paign” is sure to garner its own support. If you are already fed up with the news coverage, point your browser to the Google Chrome store and download the extension!
