Takeaways
1
In an era of widespread misinformation and deepfakes, a variety of tools leveraging AI-driven content analysis and fact-checking databases are essential for verifying media authenticity and assessing credibility.
2
Fact-checking platforms like Google Fact Check Tools and Snopes play a vital role in debunking false claims and supporting journalists in maintaining information integrity
3
Reverse image and video tools, such as TinEye and the InVid Verification Plugin, are crucial for tracking the origins of content and verifying its authenticity across digital platforms.
4
Monitoring and analysis tools like Hoaxy and TrollWall provide valuable insights into content dissemination patterns and help manage online discourse by detecting harmful comments in real time.
Ahead of the elections across the globe in an age where misinformation, deep fakes, and disinformation rapidly spread across digital platforms, identifying and countering false information has become crucial. A range of tools and technologies have emerged to help detect and recognize these threats to democracy.
These tools use techniques like AI-driven content analysis, deepfake detection, fact-checking databases, and natural language processing to verify the authenticity of media, assess credibility, and identify manipulated content. By empowering users, journalists, and media outlets, these solutions can play a vital role in maintaining trust and integrity in the information ecosystem.
Fact checking
Google Fact Check Tools
Google Fact Check Explorer: Designed for designed fact checkers,journalists, and researchers. To find existing fact checks about topics or people, go to toolbox.google.com/factcheck/explorer. Type in a keyword to see the latest fact checks tagged with that word.
Factiverse AI Editor
Factiverse AI Editor is a writing tool that uses AI to analyse text in real-time and verifies claims against fact-checking databases to help identify potential mistakes, bias, or controversial statements. The online editor can check both human-written and AI-generated content across 40 languages, giving you credible sources to either support or flag claims made in the text.
AP Fact Check
https://apnews.com/ap-fact-check
Associated Press (AP) Fact Check investigates questionable claims made by public figures and viral stories on social media, and does fact-checking articles to try to show the truth behind misleading information.
Reuters Fact Check
https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/
Reuters has a dedicated fact-checking unit that focuses on verifying social media content and visual material, publishing their findings on Reuters.com. They are a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network's Code of Principles, and the unit allows readers to report any concerns about their fact-checks directly to the IFCN.
Snopes
Snopes is the internet's oldest and largest fact-checking website and also follows the International Fact Checking Network's standards for combating misinformation online. The site is used by journalists as a trusted research resource for verifying claims and debunking misinformation.
Reverse Imaging
iTineye
TinEye is a reverse image search engine that uses image recognition technology to find where an image originated from, how it's being used across the internet, and whether modified or higher resolution versions exist. Unlike regular search engines, it doesn't use on keywords or metadata, instead uses the actual visual content to find matches.
RevEye Extension
RevEye is a free, open-source browser extension that lets users perform reverse image searches by right-clicking on any online image, offering searches through multiple engines like Google, Bing, Yandex, and TinEye.
Google Reverse Image Search
https://sites.google.com/view/reverse-images/home
Reverse Image Search Tool is a tool that helps you find similar or identical images by uploading your image files online.
Reverse video
InVid Verification Plugin
https://weverify.eu/verification-plugin/
Plugin was originally designed to help journalists verify content on social media and improve fact-checking and debunking capabilities. You can upload videos to see contextual information, split video into keyframes and query metadata, as well as checking video copyrights. The plugin is provided by the InVID and WeVerify European projects.
Monitoring and analysis
Hoaxy
Hoaxy visualizes how articles spread across the internet by tracking shared links from both questionable sources and fact-checkers since 2016. It analyzes sharing patterns and calculates how likely it is that bots (automated accounts) are involved in spreading the content.
Versionista
Versionista is a website monitoring service that tracks and alerts users to any changes made across their web properties, including HTML pages, PDFs, and other content. It provides automated tracking at scale with customizable alerts and detailed reports, helping businesses stay on top of website modifications for compliance, competitive analysis, and general oversight.
visualping
Visualping is a web monitoring tool that notifies you when changes occur on any websites you want to track. It helps users stay updated on any online content changes without having to manually check websites.
TrollWall
TrollWall is an AI-powered content moderation tool that automatically detects and removes toxic comments, hate speech, and harmful content across social media platforms. It protects online presence and reputation by using advanced AI detection and custom keyword filtering to guard against trolls, scammers, and disinformation, while maintaining full GDPR compliance and user privacy. It works in real time, which can be particularly useful during newsrooms’ livestreams.
GPTZero
GPTZero is an AI detection tool that analyzes text to determine whether it was written by a human or generated by AI systems like ChatGPT, offering analysis at the sentence, paragraph, and document level.
Geolocation
Google Earth
Google Earth creates a 3D model of the planet by layering satellite photos and mapping data onto a digital globe. Users can explore anywhere on Earth from different viewpoints, examining cities, landscapes, and geographic features in detail.
Top Tips from the BBC Verify team
Ben Strick, open source investigator formerly at BBC Africa Eye and now Investigations Director at the Centre for Information Resilience(7) Benjamin S. | LinkedIn , has a great explainer on tools teams use to help verify information:
Verification tools: Exposing truths and detecting fakes - Beyond Fake News (bbc.co.uk)
Always look at historical imagery:
- This adds information and gives a true understanding of what's happening on the ground. This was part of the verification methods used in BBC Africa Eye's award-winning Sudan's livestream massacre.
Utilize pinning:
- Bookmarking areas using Google Earth can help map out trends.
Use the ruler (km, m, cm):
- Particularly useful when needing to identify drones on airstrips by cross-referencing known wing spans.
Geolocation verifies and adds details:
- Being able to pinpoint the location of an incident can initiate purposeful investigation.
Get creative:
Check the whole image or video for any unusual occurrence and see where it leads.
Up next
This section is intended to be a guide to how leaders should develop future newsrooms and journalist teams. Adopting the best information assessment practices will build trust with audiences and ensuring the integrity of the information it is reporting.
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