Ai Powered Fact Checking Combating Misinformation In The Digital Age

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 23, 2025, 11:57 PM

ai powered fact checking combating misinformation in the digital age

Despite being used to create deepfakes, AI can also be used to combat misinformation and disinformation. Image: Gilles Lambert/Unsplash The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the digital age has ushered in both remarkable innovations and unique challenges, particularly in the realm of information integrity. AI technologies, with their capability to generate convincing fake texts, images, audio and videos (often referred to as 'deepfakes'), present significant difficulties in distinguishing authentic content from synthetic creations. This capability lets wrongdoers automate and expand disinformation campaigns, greatly increasing their reach and impact. However, AI is not a villain in this story.

It also plays a crucial role in combating disinformation and misinformation. Advanced AI-driven systems can analyse patterns, language use and context to aid in content moderation, fact-checking and the detection of false information. Understanding the nuances between misinformation (unintentional spread of falsehoods) and disinformation (deliberate spread) – as is crucial for effective countermeasures – could also be facilitated by AI analysis of content. At the 2025 Milton Wolf Seminar, panel discussions tackled one of the urgent questions of the digital age: How can truth be verified in a world where its boundaries are increasingly blurred? Against a backdrop of widespread disinformation, increasing polarisation and declining public trust, the very notion of truth itself has become contested. In such an environment, fact-checking faces a dual challenge: not only is it harder to agree on what qualifies as truth, but disinformation now spreads with unprecedented speed and scale, outpacing traditional methods of...

Amid these challenges, large language models (LLMs) have emerged as both a source of the problem and, paradoxically, a potential part of the solution. LLMs are advanced generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems trained on large amounts of internet data to generate human-like output. On the one hand, LLMs can produce convincing falsehoods rapidly and at scale, exacerbating the spread of disinformation. On the other hand, its advanced capabilities might also be harnessed to detect, counter and even stop disinformation. This raises a critical question: Could generative AI, despite its risks, become an ally in the fight for truth? The 2025 Milton Wolf Seminar placed a strong emphasis on the dangers posed by AI, such as how it can produce disinformation and mislead individuals.

This blog post explores an alternative angle. Instead of viewing AI only through the lens of risk, it asks whether this technology might also serve as part of the solution. In this blog post, I will first discuss the evolution of fact-checking and how it adapted to the changing information ecosystem. Next, I will examine the challenges fact-checkers face today, especially the scale and speed of disinformation. I will then turn to LLMs, to consider whether this technology can help support the fact-checking process. Finally, I will reflect on how LLMs might strengthen the ongoing fight for truth.

Disinformation itself is not new, but social media has profoundly transformed how quickly and widely it spreads. Platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) have redefined how citizens consume information. While democratising access, they have also created unregulated and minimally controlled spaces where disinformation can rapidly proliferate (Wittenberg & Berinsky, 2020). Unlike traditional journalism, where media professionals served as gatekeepers and information had to pass through institutional filters before reaching the public, social media platforms allow anyone to publish and share content instantly, without any... This has given rise to retroactive gatekeeping: a form of fact-checking that involves verifying the accuracy of claims after they have already begun circulating online (Singer, 2023). The Escalating Threat of AI-Powered Misinformation: A Deep Dive

The digital age has ushered in an unprecedented era of information accessibility, yet this accessibility comes at a cost. The proliferation of misinformation, fueled by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), poses a significant threat to societal trust, democratic processes, and global stability. AI’s capacity to generate hyperrealistic fake content, from deepfakes to fabricated news articles, blurs the lines between truth and deception, making it increasingly challenging for individuals to discern fact from fiction. This sophisticated manipulation erodes public trust in institutions, fuels social divisions, and can even compromise national security. AI’s Dual Role: Weaponizing and Combating Misinformation Ironically, the very technology that empowers misinformation also offers potent tools to combat it.

AI-driven detection systems, employed by social media platforms and fact-checking organizations, are capable of analyzing massive datasets of text, images, and videos, identifying patterns and inconsistencies indicative of manipulation. Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms can cross-reference claims against verified sources, flagging potential inaccuracies for human review. Simultaneously, AI facilitates the creation of deepfakes and synthetic media, enabling malicious actors to fabricate convincing but entirely false narratives. This dual nature of AI necessitates a multi-pronged approach to address the misinformation crisis. The Power of Detection: AI’s Arsenal Against Deception AI fact-checking is transforming how we detect and combat misinformation online.

Using machine learning and natural language processing, AI can quickly analyze massive amounts of content. This helps identify false claims faster than traditional methods. These systems are increasingly used by newsrooms, social media platforms, and researchers. AI tools provide real-time verification, helping limit the spread of misleading information. As digital content grows, AI fact-checking plays a vital role in preserving truth and trust. Read More: Reimagining Newsrooms: The Transformative Power of AI in Media and Journalism

Misinformation is spreading faster than ever before, amplified by the reach of social media and digital platforms. From politics to public health, false narratives influence public opinion and decision-making. This rising trend has made it harder to distinguish between reliable facts and fabricated stories. The volume of misleading content continues to overwhelm traditional fact-checking efforts. People are increasingly exposed to deceptive headlines and emotionally charged posts that prioritize clicks over truth. As a result, public trust in information sources has steadily declined, creating a dangerous echo chamber of false beliefs.

The proliferation of misinformation poses a significant threat to society, exacerbated by the capabilities of generative AI. This demo paper introduces Veracity, an open-source AI system designed to empower individuals to combat misinformation through transparent and accessible fact-checking. Veracity leverages the synergy between Large Language Models (LLMs) and web retrieval agents to analyze user-submitted claims and provide grounded veracity assessments with intuitive explanations. Key features include multilingual support, numerical scoring of claim veracity, and an interactive interface inspired by familiar messaging applications. This paper will showcase Veracity’s ability to not only detect misinformation but also explain its reasoning, fostering media literacy and promoting a more informed society. Experts have rated the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation as the #1 risk the world faces Torkington (2024).

This risk has only increased with the proliferation and advancement of generative AI Bowen et al. (2024); Pelrine et al. (2023b). Responses to misinformation have up to now been largely centred around platform moderation. As large-scale social media platforms actively eliminate their content moderation teams Horvath et al. (2025), they pass to the user the personal and social responsibility to assess the reliability of claims and figure out how to make well-grounded decisions in a landscape of uncertain information.

In the absence of strong platform-based approaches, solutions that support and empower individuals with tools to validate the information they encounter become essential in dampening the societally corrosive effects of misinformation. Misinformation is particularly dangerous when it influences public health and democratic processes, as seen in the spread of vaccine-related disinformation and politically motivated claims about censorship, both of which have been shown to exacerbate... With the rollback of content moderation efforts and increasing concerns over algorithmic bias on social media platforms, independent, reliable fact-checking tools are more necessary than ever. A promising solution in this area is an AI Steward that helps people fact-check and filter out manipulative and fake information. In fact, AI can outperform human fact-checkers in both accuracy Wei et al. (2024); Zhou et al.

(2024) and helpfulness Zhou et al. (2024). Although there is rapid progress in improving the accuracy of such systems Tian et al. (2024); Wei et al. (2024); Ram et al. (2024), there is much less research on how to make a high-accuracy system into a helpful and trustworthy one that users can rely on Augenstein et al.

(2024). Our AI-powered open-source solution, Veracity, deploys large language models (LLMs) working with web retrieval agents to provide any member of the public with an efficient and grounded analysis of how factual their input text... Moreover, through open-sourcing our platform, we hope to bring a test-bed for the research community to design effective fact-checking strategies.

Ai Powered Fact Checking Combating Misinformation In The Digital Age

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