# The Verge Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/verge/ 11 people recommended The Verge in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 26 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 12 months, in 10 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it. Readers praise its original reporting and tech journalism, though many say quality has slipped into opinion pieces. Common caveat: paywall blocks many articles. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Paywall blocks articles without subscription (7 comments in the sample): "The Verge’s paywall is ridiculous, especially given that they still live off slimy affiliate revenue and ads" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46997836)) "They have horrid policies with regards to displaying sources, and put half their articles behind a paywall." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50186007)) "Some sites now demand money in return for 'fewer' ads, like The Verge!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48650925)) - Declining quality, opinion, mainstream focus (5 comments in the sample): "The low ratio of quality original reporting vs political and opinion pieces made stop reading the verge." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47239552)) "dumped The Verge a few years ago for their hard turn into popularism" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47017251)) "the likes of the Verge only run the most mainstream kind of articles" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49815510)) - Trust and editorial integrity concerns (3 comments in the sample): "The Verge's infamous "how to build a gaming PC" tutorial video made me stop visiting their site and mostly stop trusting most tech news." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46028251)) "Will The Verge publish stories about these problems, too? No, they won't!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46635285)) "The Verge is not to be trusted with technical FAANG editorial content." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47787887)) ## Why people recommend it - Strong original reporting and journalism (4 comments in the sample): "Some of the best reporting, tech or otherwise, is being done there." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46829705)) "Verge's brilliant reporting on Supernatural recently" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47014399)) "the only ones actually doing any journalism here" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48240754)) - Less regurgitated filler than rivals (4 comments in the sample): "Other than Verge and Wired maybe, all of the listed publications are mostly putting out late, regurgitated stories." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47236002)) "The Verge is a surprise because it is relatively new and was relatively free of this crap for a long time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47238306)) "Of all the tech sites I've been visiting for the past decade it is the only one that hasn't gone to shit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47239760)) - Clear coverage of recent stories (2 comments in the sample): "The Verge had some good coverage about this" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47162210)) "I really like how The Verge discusses this." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47167107)) - Worth paying for subscribers (1 comment in the sample): "I've never so happily subscribed to something." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47483475)) ## Other news outlets people recommend - [CNN Lite](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cnn/): 25 recommend, 3 mixed, 48 criticize - [text.npr.org](https://hackerapproved.com/p/text-npr-org/): 23 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize - [The Guardian](https://hackerapproved.com/p/guardian/): 18 recommend, 12 mixed, 42 criticize - [Ars Technica](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ars-technica/): 18 recommend, 12 mixed, 55 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "The Verge", https://hackerapproved.com/p/verge/ (11 recommend, 2 mixed, 26 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.