• GAZA WARFact Check: AI Fakes in Israel's War Against Hamas

    By Ines Eisele and Uta Steinwehr

    Real or fake? Images generated by artificial intelligence have become a disinformation tool in the war between Israel and Hamas. DW’s fact-checking team shows you how to spot them.

  • MISINFORMATIONIt’s Not Just About Facts: Democrats and Republicans Have Sharply Different Attitudes About Removing Misinformation from Social Media

    By Ruth Elisabeth Appel

    Misinformation is a key global threat, but Democrats and Republicans disagree about how to address the problem. In particular, Democrats and Republicans diverge sharply on removing misinformation from social media.

  • DISINFORMATIONWant to Prevent Misinformation? Present Data with an Interactive Visual

    Getting readers of a news story interested in numbers can be a challenge. But the benefits of engaging readers in data can lead to a better understanding, preventing misinformation, and misrepresentation in the news. New research explores a solution using interactive data visualization to inform and engage readers.

  • DISINFORMATIONTackling Fake News

    By John Roe

    Cutting-edge technologies gave the world fake news, but researchers are developing even newer technology to stop it. Their innovative system — the first of its kind — relies on something already famous for underpinning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies — blockchain.

  • HAMAS ATTACKIsrael-Hamas Conflict: Fighting Misinformation Requires Better Tools

    Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict is flooding social media, in particular Elon Musk’s platform X, where users have been sharing false and misleading claims about the assault. Researchers have investigated various interventions on social media, including accuracy prompts, fact-checking or debunking, crowdsourcing and labeling or warnings.

  • CYBEREDUCATIONTraining Students to Succeed in the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”

    Transformational changes are already underway in the manufacturing industry as technological advancements, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and smart devices from the “fourth industrial revolution” or Industry 4.0., inspire a digital-first approach to engineering. University of Missouri researchers are using a $1 million grant to support the development of an Industry 4.0 lab, training engineering students for the future of digitization in manufacturing.

  • DEMOCRACY WATCHWhen Rumors Take Flight

    By Peter Dizikes

    Misinformation pervades U.S. politics, with the outcome of the 2020 presidential election being the most pressing case in point as a result of the persistent, unrelenting Big Lie campaign by Donald Trump and some of his allies. Yet Trump’s lies and unfounded claims have gained wide traction among his followers. MIT professor Adam Berinsky’s new book examines the political misinformation that threatens the U.S. system of government.

  • SOCIAL MEDIAGovernment Regulation Can Effectively Curb Social-Media Dangers

    Social media posts such as those that promote terrorism and hate; spread medical misinformation; encourage dangerous challenges that put teen lives at risk; or those that glamorize suicide, pose a significant threat to society. New EU rules require social media platforms to take down flagged posts within 24 hours – and modelling shows that’s fast enough to have a dramatic effect on the spread of harmful content.

  • CONSPIRACY THEORIESConspiracy Theories: How Social Media Can Help Them Spread and Even Spark Violence

    By Christine Abdalla Mikhaeil

    Conspiracy theory beliefs and (more generally) misinformation may be groundless, but they can have a range of harmful real-world consequences, including spreading lies, undermining trust in media and government institutions and inciting violent or even extremist behaviors.

  • TRUTH DECAYFighting Fake “Facts” with Two Little Words: Grounding a Large Language Model's Answers in Reality

    By Jaimie Patterson

    Asking ChatGPT for answers comes with a risk—it may offer you entirely made-up “facts” that sound legitimate. Despite having been trained on vast amounts of factual data, large language models, or LLMs, are prone to generating false information called hallucinations. Inspired by a phrase commonly used in journalism, the researchers conducted a study on the impact of incorporating the words “according to” in LLM queries.

  • TRUTH DECAYFact-Checking Found to Influence Recommender Algorithms

    By Tom Fleischman

    Researchers have shown that urging individuals to actively participate in the news they consume can reduce the spread of these kinds of falsehoods. “We don’t have to think of ourselves as captive to tech platforms and algorithms,” said a researcher.

  • TRUTH DECAYFighting Fake News: Using Machine Learning, Blockchain to Counter Misinformation

    By Anthony Borrelli

    False information can lead to harmful consequences. How can content creators focus their efforts on areas where the misinformation is likely to do the most public harm? Research offers possible solutions through a proposed machine learning framework, as well as expanded use of blockchain technology.

  • ONLINE EXTREMISMHateful Usernames in Online Multiplayer Games

    The online games industry continues to fall short in protecting players from hate and extremist content in games. Usernames are a basic part of any online experience. A new report focuses on hateful usernames, which should be the easiest content for companies to moderate.

  • CHINA WATCHChina’s Cyber Interference and Transnational Crime Groups in Southeast Asia

    By Albert Zhang and Danielle Cave

    The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of engagement with criminal organizations and proxies to achieve its strategic objectives. This activity involves the Chinese government’s spreading of influence and disinformation campaigns using fake personas and inauthentic accounts on social media that are linked to transnational criminal organizations.

  • EXTREMISMThe Promise—and Pitfalls—of Researching Extremism Online

    By Heather J. Williams, Alexandra T. Evans, and Luke J. Matthews

    While online spaces are key enablers for extremist movements, social media research hasn’t provided many answers to fundamental questions. How big of a problem is extremism, in the United States or around the world? Is it getting worse? Are social media platforms responsible, or did the internet simply reveal existing trends? Why do some people become violent?