An investigation found that real video of medical professionals is being manipulated using AI. An investigation found that real video of medical professionals is being manipulated using AI. TikTok and other social media platforms are hosting AI-generated deepfake videos of doctors whose words have been manipulated to help sell supplements and spread health misinformation. The factchecking organisation Full Fact has uncovered hundreds of such videos featuring impersonated versions of doctors and influencers directing viewers to Wellness Nest, a US-based supplements firm. All the deepfakes involve real footage of a health expert taken from the internet.

It's supposed to be the reliable smart assistant that'makes your life easier' with instant titbits of information. But a shocking report has revealed that in many cases, Amazon's Alexa doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. An investigation by Full Fact has found that Alexa spouts incorrect information on topics ranging from MPs' expenses to the origins of the Northern Lights. Full Fact, the UK's independent fact checking organisation, called the findings'misleading' and'clearly a big problem'. What's more, staff at the organization have been furious to discover that Alexa was attributing the wrong answers to none other than Full Fact.

For years, children have been told not to believe everything they see online - but we may need to now extend this lesson to adults. That's because we are in the midst of a'deepfake' surge, where artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to manipulate videos and audio in a way that replicates real life. From an ultra-realistic video of Margot Robbie scrubbing the floor to an unsettling video of Vladimir Putin, several uncanny deepfake videos have hit the headlines in recent years. But how can you tell that all is not as it seems with these videos? Experts have revealed the six key signs that indicate a video is a deepfake - and say you should always pay close attention to the ears.

As members of the UK's largest opposition party gathered in Liverpool for their party conference--probably their last before the UK holds a general election--a potentially explosive audio file started circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter. The 25-second recording was posted by an X account with the handle "@Leo_Hutz" that was set up in January 2023. In the clip, Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour Party leader, is apparently heard swearing repeatedly at a staffer. "I have obtained audio of Keir Starmer verbally abusing his staffers at [the Labour Party] conference," the X account posted. "This disgusting bully is about to become our next PM."

The reporting and analysis of current events around the globe has expanded from professional, editor-lead journalism all the way to citizen journalism. Politicians and other key players enjoy direct access to their audiences through social media, bypassing the filters of official cables or traditional media. However, the multiple advantages of free speech and direct communication are dimmed by the misuse of the media to spread inaccurate or misleading claims. These phenomena have led to the modern incarnation of the fact-checker -- a professional whose main aim is to examine claims using available evidence to assess their veracity. As in other text forensics tasks, the amount of information available makes the work of the fact-checker more difficult. With this in mind, starting from the perspective of the professional fact-checker, we survey the available intelligent technologies that can support the human expert in the different steps of her fact-checking endeavor. These include identifying claims worth fact-checking; detecting relevant previously fact-checked claims; retrieving relevant evidence to fact-check a claim; and actually verifying a claim. In each case, we pay attention to the challenges in future work and the potential impact on real-world fact-checking.

During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, inaccurate and misleading articles burned through social networks. Since then, tech companies--from behemoths like Facebook and Google to scrappy startups--have built tools to fight misinformation (including what many call "fake news," though that term is highly politicized). Most companies have turned to artificial intelligence (AI) in hopes that fast and automated computer systems can deal with a problem that's seemingly as big as the Internet. "They're all using AI because they need to scale," says Claire Wardle, who leads the misinformation-fighting project First Draft, based in Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. AI can speed up time-consuming steps, she says, such as going through the vast amount of content published online every day and flagging material that might be false.

The world has a fake news problem. And with the speed and scale of false information being spread across the internet, it can seem impossible to stop. Artificial intelligence could be a way to slow its spread--and help stop companies profiting from intentional or accidental dissemination. The method will be complex but the idea is simple. AI can be trained to identify fake news and gather data on sites that are the most prolific in peddling it--or just sloppy in their fact checking, experts say.

Full Fact is the UK's independent, non-partisan, factchecking charity. We are funded by individuals, trusts, foundations and many others. Our work on automation is funded by Google, Open Society Foundations and Omidyar Network. We work to anchor public debate to reality by providing independent factchecking. We've been doing this since 2010.

Summary: Just how accurate are algorithms at spotting fake news and are we ready to turn them loose to suppress material they don't find credible. Here are some considerations and stories about some of the companies trying to build these fact-checkers. Which of the following headlines is fake? The first two are in fact fake. You may actually have seen them during last fall's election coverage.

Facts matter: but is that statement a fact? Suppose it could be proven or refuted – what then? What's the best way to tell someone they've made an error? How do you nudge the world in the direction of truth? These are the questions professional factcheckers wrestle with on a daily basis.