Facebook reveals it will use AI to fact-check photos and videos for fake news

Facebook is expanding its fake news spotting systems to include photos and videos as part of its ongoing battle to halt the spread of misinformation on its service. Following successful trials in France, India, and Mexico, the company said it will now roll-out the system in 17 countries worldwide in a bid to staunch what it has branded'misinformation in these new visual formats.' The Artificial Intelligence (AI) system feeds potentially fake content to human fact-checkers, who use visual verification techniques such as reverse image searching and analysing image metadata to check the veracity of photos and videos. Previously, the company's efforts to tackle misinformation had been focused on rooting out false articles and webpage links. Russian agents and other malicious groups seeking to influence democratic elections in the US and elsewhere have repeatedly used images and video.