Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
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Newsjunkie.net is a resource guide for journalists. We show who's behind the news, and provide tools to help navigate the modern business of information.
Use of Data
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India (online)
Souk is a curated product discovery and shopping guide operated by Splainer, an India-based digital media company founded by Lakshmi Chaudhry. Described as a platform for shopping enthusiasts and lovers of product, Souk's small dedicated team discovers, vets, and curates products from brands it trusts, across categories including home and living, style, food and drink, and gifting. It aims to be what it describes as a trusted friend who recommends things worth your time and money.
Souk was developed as a product extension of Splainer, a subscription newsletter platform founded by Lakshmi Chaudhry in June 2020. Chaudhry previously co-founded Firstpost.com in 2011 and Broadsheet Daily in 2018. When Splainer's daily news edition wound down in August 2025 — Chaudhry cited an unsustainable business model amid declining subscriptions — Souk, along with the free weekly culture newsletter Advisory, became the primary ongoing products of the Splainer operation. Souk explicitly positions itself as built in the open with its community as co-creator, in keeping with Splainer's ethos of transparent, reader-driven publishing.
Souk is an online shopping guide that searches and curates products from across the internet and presents them through themed stories and recommendation lists. Coverage spans home and living items, fashion and style, food and drink products, and gifting guides. Souk invites community members to share products they love and publishes contributor recommendation stories. It also integrates with the Advisory newsletter: subscribers to Souk's community receive the weekly Advisory culture newsletter as part of their membership. The platform is built on affiliate commerce, with purchases via Souk's links providing revenue to support its work.
Souk is freely accessible at souk.splainer.in. Users can browse product stories without registration. Community membership is available via sign-up, which also grants access to wishlists, special invites, and the Advisory newsletter subscription. Contact: dearsouk@splainer.in.