In person

Bring your friends, come to the newsroom and talk with the editors over a free drink or two. Sit back and listen in, or speak out and let rip. It’s up to you.

In app

News doesn’t have to stress you out. It can make you think, make you laugh, and sometimes even change your mind. Beautiful photos, brilliant writers and just one or two stories a day.

Why it’s good

“There’s a palpable sense, among young people especially, that things need to change. Tortoise’s model is a vehicle for us, as students, to put forward our ideas and perspectives on the challenges that will define the coming decades.”
Sam Butler-Sloss, University of Edinburgh

“I’ve been able to meet people from all different backgrounds to talk about different and contemporary topics with invited speakers that I’d have never otherwise met; which isn’t something that other media outlets offer.”
Ruby Ettle, University of Birmingham

“The most impressive thing about Tortoise is the sheer variety of subjects that you will learn about – stories from every continent, about every field, from every perspective.”
Gianni Sarra, King’s College London

How it’s different

Slow news.

We are overwhelmed by information. The problem isn’t just fake news or junk news, it’s that there’s so much of it, and so much of it is the same. In a hurry, partial and confusing. Too many newsrooms chasing the news, but missing the story. We believe it’s time to slow down and wise up.

Open to everybody.

For democracy to work, the news media needs to be more democratic. We’re working to close the divide between the powerful and the powerless. Tortoise gives everyone a seat at the table. We’re set up to be accessible to everybody, especially the people who are hardest for news platforms to reach, but whose voices most need to be heard.

Completely independent.

There are no ads. Tortoise is blissfully pop-up free. We’ll never, ever sell or share your personal data. We have no overbearing proprietor with an axe to grind, which means we can be free of party political bias or commercial influence. Did we mention there are no ads?