Abstract

This work is based on information shared by many researchers. The understanding of misinformation as a phenomenon that goes far beyond the term “fake news.” These terms have been appropriated and misleadingly used by powerful actors to dismiss and call into question the information coverage that is already going through critical moments about credibility. Disinformation, as we address in this article, includes all forms of the false, inaccurate or misleading information, designed, presented and promoted to intentionally cause public or for-profit harm. To counteract this phenomenon, organizations and governments have been promoting various initiatives. Many of these initiatives rely on artificial intelligence that, with the art of algorithms, develop netbots and platforms with the aim of fighting information toxicity. For their part, news organizations have been implementing specialized work units whose professionals have a multi-interdisciplinary profile with the ability to use various Big data techniques and data filtering and visualization tools. The article analyzes the main bot developments used to minimize the impact of fake news.

 

Introduction

Hoaxes, news, false and disinformation that are spread through the Web are issues that concern countries, states, organizations, media and companies. But how to fight against false news and the spread of hoaxes? What is true and what is a lie on the Net? How to detect fake news?

Analysts do not hesitate to affirm that fake news destroy images of politicians, journalists, etc., and murder. For the latter, the hoaxes sent through WhatsApp that caused a state of psychosis with dozens of executions of innocent people are worth. Another example may be the headline of a story that falsely denounces that the latest model of the car brand has a manufacturing defect that has caused fatalities on the road. And the news has already been shared on Facebook among thousands and millions of users who may have the same car brand.

For the consulting firm Gartner (2017), in 2022 the western public will consume more false than true news. And it is that any false news circulates on the Web at a speed infinitely higher than that of any rumor or hoax propagated in History. More and more experts agree that fake news is more than seventy percent more likely to be viralized – replicated – than true news and this (true) news has to be up to six times longer than fake news to be able to reach only 1,500 people.

This virus has its origin in disruptive technologies and it is there where its cure is also. Specifically in the innovations that are taking place in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although the spread of false news and hoaxes has been taking place by people, and in recent years, with the use of artificial intelligence in the form of bots, it is precisely Artificial Intelligence that, on the other hand, can help citizens to counteract the disinformation produced by unverified news. The strategy is based on initiatives such as the development and creation of “good bots” and algorithms designed to verify information. For this, the AI ​​will have the ability to read the informational chaos (infoxication) that exists on the Internet and confirm the most dubious news, warning users (readers) which of them belong to the controversial fake news category. The handicap is that many of the artificial intelligence initiatives to counter fakes are still in the experimental phase.

The article analyzes some types of Artificial Intelligence, such as bots, analyzed and created with the purpose of helping news organizations in verifying information and contributing to the readers who receive information, they do it in a totally trustworthy and credible way. and it serves to form their opinions and make economic, political and social decisions. The objective is to present a discussion and theoretical approach on the use of intelligent robots that create a barrier against the spread of fake news.

This article is part of the partial results of the research project “Media ecology and emerging Technologies: Cyberculture, Interdisciplinarity and Applied Research. Study and Innovation of Multimedia and Digital Informational Models ”, funded by the Complutense University of Madrid and Santander Universities (Reference: PR75 / 18-21619).