Thu Dec 12th, 2024

BGU researchers combat misinformation on social media with an innovative method

Photo: Image from freepik.Photo: Image from freepik.

A team of researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), led by Nir Grinberg and Rami Puzis, both from the university's Faculty of Software Engineering and Information Systems, have developed a new technology that aims to combat one of the evils of the age: misinformation and fake news.

Especially during election periods, the appearance of conspiracy theories and false information on social media increases exponentially, and there are still not many tools that allow verifying facts in real time.

The new system developed by BGU is a fact-checking method based on the analysis of news sources rather than individual social media posts, making the work of fact-checkers more agile and accurate, reducing time and costs.

Based on models that analyse audience patterns, the scientists demonstrated that the method is remarkably effective, outperforming traditional practices by 33%.

Grinberg, one of the leaders of the research, explained that “today, fact-checkers are overwhelmed by the amount of false information circulating.” In addition, the BGU professor clarified that “they cannot review every publication, and they are not always able to focus on the content that really needs to be reviewed. That is why we developed this system that helps fact-checkers better direct their attention and increase their productivity.”

One thought on “BGU researchers combat misinformation on social media with an innovative method”
  1. For laymen like me “Verifiers” = inspectors = in the eyes of the Jews = few, but good ones… it is something like laughing behind the robes of the Iranian ayatollah… what he is thinking (more or less).-

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