Chrome Extensions for Journalists & Researchers Who Go Deep
Monitor Reddit for emerging stories and trends, export X follower networks for source discovery and analysis, and use AI to accelerate research — all from lightweight browser extensions that respect your workflow.
Last updated: February 16, 2026
Challenges Journalists & Researchers Face Every Day
These are the problems that slow you down. PlugMonkey solves them.
Emerging stories break on Reddit before mainstream media
By the time a trending Reddit thread makes it to Twitter and then to newsroom Slack, you are already behind. The reporters who break stories first are the ones monitoring communities where discussions originate — and that is increasingly Reddit.
Source discovery relies too much on personal networks
Finding expert sources, understanding who influences a conversation, and mapping out stakeholder networks requires tools that most newsrooms do not provide. You end up relying on the same 10 contacts instead of discovering fresh voices.
Data collection for analysis is tediously manual
For network analysis, audience research, or any data-driven story, you need structured data from social platforms. Scraping tools require coding skills. API access is expensive and rate-limited. You need a way to export data cleanly without writing Python scripts.
Research workflows involve too much context-switching
You are reading a source document, and you need to summarize it, translate a section, or extract key claims for fact-checking. Opening a separate AI tab, pasting content, getting results, and switching back — each round-trip breaks your investigative flow.
Recommended Tools for Journalists & Researchers
Handpicked extensions that match your workflow. Each one solves a specific pain point.
Reddit Scout Pro
From $6.99/mo or $49.99 lifetime
Monitor Reddit for breaking trends, source discovery, and public sentiment before stories go mainstream. Set up keyword monitors for your beat and get alerted when relevant discussions emerge.
- Real-time monitoring across any subreddit — track emerging stories as they develop
- Intent scoring helps prioritize threads with high engagement potential
- CSV export for archival and trend analysis — document your sources systematically
Prompt Anything Pro
From $6.99/mo or $49.99 lifetime
Your AI research assistant that lives in the browser. Summarize lengthy documents, translate foreign-language sources, extract key claims for fact-checking — all inline without breaking your workflow.
- Highlight text on any webpage and run AI prompts: summarize, translate, extract claims, compare
- Save research-specific templates: 'extract factual claims', 'identify sources cited', 'summarize in 3 bullets'
- BYOK — use GPT-4, Claude, or Gemini at API pricing without expensive subscriptions
X Followers Exporter Pro
From $6.99/mo or $49.99 lifetime
Export follower networks for source discovery, influence mapping, and audience analysis. Understand who follows key accounts, identify potential sources, and analyze social networks — without coding or API access.
- Export any public account's followers with 20+ data columns for network analysis
- Filter by bio keywords to find experts, officials, and stakeholders in a topic area
- JSON export mode for computational analysis — no need to build your own scraper
How Journalists & Researchers Use PlugMonkey
Real workflows, real results. Here is how teams like yours get value from day one.
Beat Monitoring on Reddit
Set up automated monitoring for the topics, organizations, and keywords relevant to your beat. Get alerted when discussions emerge on Reddit — often hours or days before they surface in mainstream channels.
Identify 10-20 keywords relevant to your beat: organization names, policy terms, key figures, issue-specific vocabulary
Configure Reddit Scout Pro to monitor subreddits where your beat's communities gather
Review daily alerts — look for emerging narratives, first-person accounts, and expert discussions
Archive relevant threads (CSV export) for source documentation and timeline construction
Cross-reference Reddit discussions with traditional sources for story development
Use the intent scoring to prioritize threads with highest community engagement
Source Discovery and Network Mapping
Use X follower data to map influence networks, discover potential sources, and understand the landscape around a story. Find the experts, insiders, and stakeholders you would not find through traditional reporting.
Identify key accounts relevant to your story: organizations, public figures, industry leaders
Export their follower lists using X Followers Exporter Pro (20+ data columns per follower)
Filter exported data by bio keywords to find experts, officials, academics, and insiders
Cross-reference multiple follower lists to find network overlaps — shared followers often indicate community structure
Identify potential sources who follow key accounts but are not yet public commentators
Use JSON export for computational network analysis in tools like Gephi or NetworkX
AI-Accelerated Research Workflow
Use AI directly in your browser to accelerate the tedious parts of research — summarizing long documents, translating foreign-language sources, extracting key claims for verification, and comparing accounts.
Open a lengthy source document, report, or foreign-language article in your browser
Highlight the full text and run your 'summarize key findings in 5 bullets' template
For foreign-language sources: highlight and run 'translate to English, preserve technical terms'
For fact-checking: highlight claims and run 'extract specific factual claims that can be independently verified'
For analysis: highlight two different accounts and run 'identify contradictions and discrepancies'
Archive AI outputs alongside source materials in your research notes
What Journalists & Researchers Are Saying
“Using this for academic research on political Twitter. Exported 200K+ followers across 12 accounts for network analysis. The raw JSON mode saved me from writing my own scraper.”
Amara D.
PhD candidate, computational social science
“The intent scoring is useful but not perfect — I'd say it's accurate about 80% of the time on high-intent flags. Still way better than manually scanning threads. I check the 70+ scores daily and ignore the rest.”
Ling W.
Content marketer at a dev tools company
“I switch between Claude and GPT-4 depending on the task, and this lets me do that from one shortcut without opening three tabs. Highlight, prompt, done. Saved my prompt templates across sessions too.”
Dmitri V.
Full-stack dev, uses AI for code review
Break Stories Faster, Research Deeper
Journalists and researchers using PlugMonkey catch emerging narratives on Reddit hours before mainstream coverage, map social networks without coding skills, and accelerate research with inline AI — all for less than the cost of one monthly database subscription.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Next Big Story Might Be on Reddit Right Now
Install PlugMonkey free and start monitoring your beat, mapping networks, and accelerating research — all from your browser.