Client
The client was a startup funded by Google that operates with the purpose of generating social awareness about fake or misleading news disseminated online with its AI-powered analytical tool that assesses the credibility of information.
Industry
News & Media/Startup
Background
The client enjoys the reputation of being a leading social enterprise offering information products for consumers and B2B clients. Its mobile app harnesses Artificial Intelligence (AI) for analysing the information made available online. Newsfeed provided to users is contextualised and consolidated with customizable services that check facts based on the preferences and likings of users. Client products equip individuals, organizations, and governments with actionable and accurate knowledge for making conscious decisions without any fallacies.
Offering
Our client offers incisive tools for evaluating the sources of information or viral news to ascertain the trustworthiness, integrity, and credibility of information floating on the internet.
The flagship product is a mobile application that amalgamates the insights drawn from machine learning, human intelligence, NLP (Natural Language Processing), and AI for identifying fake news so as to enhance the quality of information being circulated online.
The B2B products offered by the client provide users with the ability to evaluate the dependability of online information sources and review their reputation quotients using APIs.
Challenges
The client was confronted with a number of challenges, outlined below, for which it sought the qualified intervention of Cubet.
- Social polarization had to be addressed by preventing the circulation of fake news through digital touchpoints.
- A huge volume of news or information and its sources had to be scanned exceptionally fast to establish the credibility and truth quotient of the information.
- Rifts developing in society due to an alarming increase of fake news had to be mended with a logical interpretation of each piece of information’s source.
- A powerful and bespoke AI-driven algorithm had to be developed that can track down fake news and make qualitative improvements in news being read online.
- The fake news detector must deliver customised results in real-time efficiently and should be scalable.
Solution
The client entered into a strategic partnership with Cubet for the development of an ecosystem of applications and services that can decisively ascertain the credibility of news circulated online with cutting-edge technologies.
Our team brainstormed with the client over the challenges and arrived at the following conclusions regarding important components of the proposed solution.
- Advanced algorithms of machine learning, NLP (Natural Language Processing), and AI to be leveraged for dissecting news articles and ascertaining their trustworthiness.
- Information contextualization and anomaly detection are to be carried out by underpinning automated analysis with expert human intervention.
- Tailored news feeds to be provided to users routed through credible fact-checking mechanisms to help them consume thoroughly verified and relevant news
- Develop an easily navigable user interface with provision for alerts in real-time to serve users with contemporary and recent news.
- Combat the illicit circulation of fake and provocative news with innovative solutions that can also upgrade the quality of online information meant for consumption by individuals or businesses.
- API services to be developed which can be used by organisations to trace fake news as a service.
Technological Interventions
We set out to materialise the aspirations of the client with innovative technological frameworks, as outlined below.
- Provision for analysing and validating the news articles’ credibility was facilitated through an AI-underpinned news application that drew strength from sophisticated technologies combining machine learning algorithms, NLP (natural language processing), and data analytics.
- Inconsistencies are detected, and information is cross-referenced by the system using different sources and databases like social media channels, fact-checking sites, and news archives.
- Scalability and accuracy in processing and analysing data are ensured by building the application on a comprehensive cloud-based infrastructure.
- Interactive user interfaces and sophisticated data visualisation techniques are used to facilitate users' clearly understanding the context and trustworthiness of news articles.
- Powerful data security and privacy protection measures were instituted to safeguard the sensitive details of users and foil attempts to breach data or access information in an unauthorised way.
The innovative applications were deployed with the following key features:
- Fact-checking Mechanism
A customised fact-checking solution allows users to validate the credibility and accuracy of news articles so that they can differentiate between fake and correct news and make more informed decisions.
- Contextualised Newsfeeds
Users’ preferences and likings are factored in when providing relevant and personalised news articles while shielding them from misguided or fake news.
- Easy to interface
The user-friendly and intuitive interface allows users to browse through all categories of news and related features seamlessly and access relevant information easily.
- Notifications and Alerts in Real-time
Users can immediately get relevant updates on breaking news in their areas of interest as the application sends notifications and alerts in real time based on the browsing history and preferences of users.
- Fake News Detection
The application checks the veracity and reliability quotient of news articles by leveraging machine learning, AI, and NLP algorithms. Consequently, users can easily steer clear of misleading news information.
- Ability to Customize Information
Users can avail of different customization features that help them browse relevant news articles in categories of their choice based on their requirements and interests.
- Fact-Checking as a service.
Provides users with the ability to verify the accuracy and authenticity of information presented in various forms, such as articles, news stories, social media posts, and other sources. The service can be used by individuals, businesses, and organizations to ensure that the information they are presenting or using is accurate and trustworthy.
Outcomes and Impact
Cubet’s expertise and experience ensconced the client as a trailblazer in the AI-driven credibility assessment and accuracy analysis of online news segments. The client saw exponential growth in the business and it started to receive numerous recognitions and awards worldwide. Within 2 years of launching, various Government departments, news agencies started using the service.
The users could now consume authentic and contextualised news articles, which helped them make informed decisions. Governments started using the platform as a citizen service to check and verify news during elections. The fact-checking mechanism verifies the information critically and the customization features allow users to get highly filtered news based on their needs. Nothing important skipped the attention of users as they get notifications and alerts in real-time which improved the overall experience quotient. The service has made a significant social impact within 4 years of its inception.
Technologies
- Python
