From the algorithm that attempts to detect incorrect statistics, to the service for identifying fake news circulating on WhatsApp. The Council of Ministers is also working on a task force.
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At a time when the coronavirus infodemic is fuelling the excessive circulation of news and information that is often unverified, a series of tools have been activated to verify what is true from what falls squarely into the realm of disinformation and so-called "fake news". Some are tools developed by research groups with university support; others are working groups made up of science communication experts and debunkers created under the auspices of the Council of Ministers.
Among the first to be launched, the CoronaCheck website is entirely dedicated to the statistical verification of coronavirus figures. Developed by a team of researchers from the data science department at Eurecom and Cornell University, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, it allows users to verify news stories on the basis of official data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and from the governments and health ministries of Italy, Australia, Taiwan, China and Canada.
The website would allow users to check whether a given piece of data is true or false. How does the system work? For each query or question submitted, the site displays a true/false label along with an explanation of how the artificial intelligence system reached that conclusion. If faced with claims it is unable to verify, the algorithm asks for feedback. We tested it using data published by Ispi (Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale) and in particular by Matteo Villa, a researcher at the institute who is notably meticulous in sharing daily data, trends and statistics on Covid-19.
When trying the statement "the total number of cases in Italy is 132,547", the algorithm asked us to provide more information, as it was unable to give an answer. When trying the statement "the fatality rate of coronavirus in Italy is 12 per cent", the response was affirmative, as indicated in Villa's tweet. In essence, the system appears to work, although it frequently responds that it does not have sufficient data for a statistical determination. Evidently, the data must be patently false for it to be declared as such.
An interesting and useful project has been launched by Facta, a new initiative by Pagella Politica, designed to verify news circulating on WhatsApp. The site features the most widespread hoaxes, from audio clips by phantom doctors to home remedies supposedly guaranteeing immunity to the virus, all duly verified and, where appropriate, debunked. "We conceived this project within Pagella Politica because we wanted a space in which fact-checking — something we were already doing before — would be clearly distinguishable from the rest of our work," Giovanni Zagni, director and creator of Facta, explains to LifeGate. "The idea had been around for quite a few months, but we put it online a few days ago, taking advantage of our partnership with WhatsApp, which asked us to provide a service to verify reports submitted by users."
To request assistance, it is in fact possible to send a message to the number +393456022504 — whether text or voice, video or image — so that its accuracy can be verified. Facta will send a notification to the user who submitted the request and, if it turns out to be a new piece of false information, will examine it and publish the analysis on the site, also creating "a database of facts and myths about the new coronavirus, for use by the public and the media as a source of information."
"The team works mainly in two areas. The first is monitoring the reports that reach us through the most varied channels, to take the pulse of which fake news is most widespread," Zagni continues. "The second part is actual fact-checking, carried out using the tools of journalistic work and a mix of technical instruments." For example, doing what a journalist should do most of the time when faced with a story: picking up the old telephone receiver and asking the person directly concerned for confirmation or denial.
At the beginning of April, on the initiative of the Under-Secretary to the Council of Ministers, Andrea Martella, a working group was launched to analyse the ways in which fake news is generated and spreads, with a view to creating awareness campaigns and directly involving citizens and authorities. Well-known figures and fact-checking experts are taking part in the project, contributing to improving communication about the virus and helping citizens — among others — to navigate the gargantuan volume of news to which we are subjected on a daily basis.
Roberta Villa, a doctor and science journalist actively engaged in explaining many of the issues related to coronavirus, tells LifeGate that "the important thing is not to think of it as a tool for censorship or debunking. The aim of the project — which is still being defined in its more concrete activities — is simply to represent a working table at which to compare and bring together different areas of expertise, in order to find 'positive', non-repressive strategies that help citizens to find their bearings in the information landscape around Covid-19, promoting science-based information over opinions, fanciful theories or outright fabrications." Information that we are in desperate need of in these weeks.
