After already attracting thousands of users on WhatsApp and by phone, the fact-checking AI Vera is arriving on social media. Its ambition? To allow anyone to instantly verify dubious information, where it circulates and spreads the fastest.
A public utility tool
The spread of fake news on social media is nothing new, but it continues to intensify: according to an MIT study, false information spreads six times faster than real information on Twitter, driven by algorithms that favor emotional and controversial content. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram, with their billions of users, have become fertile grounds for fake news, to the detriment of public debate and source verification.
It's hard to blame internet users, however. AI is making it possible to create increasingly credible fake news, to the point where it is increasingly difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood in the incessant flow of information. Vera positions itself as a technological response to a systemic problem: accessible for free via WhatsApp, phone, and now Instagram, the tool allows you to ask a question orally or in writing and receive a reasoned response, based on a selection of reliable sources, from professional fact-checking and leading media.
Fact-checking the networks
In addition to spreading false information, the rise of fake news is not without consequences. Post-truths (as Donald Trump likes to call them) fuel the polarization of opinions, with the risk of creating very real political and social phenomena. As men increasingly vote to the right, and women increasingly to the left, social networks play a catalytic role, providing a living space for masculinist, racist, or homophobic theories.
Faced with a latent situation, fact-checking has established itself as an indispensable tool. But it still faces several major challenges. Not only is fact-checking too slow compared to the speed at which fake news spreads, but the latter are also increasingly complex to detect. Add to this the distrust of a portion of the public towards traditional media and verification initiatives, long led by journalists, which struggle to reach a young audience, more accustomed to getting their information from social networks, and Vera stands out as a public-use alternative.
AI at the service of critical thinking
The originality of the tool lies in several aspects. First, its accessibility: Vera works on channels widely used by young people and does not require an internet connection for its voice version, which makes it accessible to audiences with low internet connections. Second, its method: it relies on more than 350 reliable sources, including around a hundred accredited fact-checking teams (Les Décodeurs, CheckNews, AFP Factuel, etc.) as well as several recognized scientific or general media outlets. The supervision of a committee of independent experts – including disinformation specialists, researchers and journalists – also aims to guarantee the quality and impartiality of the responses provided. This is an essential guarantee at a time when the question of the independence of verification tools is being debated.
The arrival of tools like Vera will not resolve the disinformation crisis on its own, but it marks an important step: that of the democratization of fact-checking, directly where information circulates and influences opinions. It remains to be seen whether this type of initiative will be able to prevail in the face of the viral nature of fake news and the distrust of information authorities.
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