University of Kwazulu-Natal

Disinformation Countermeasures And Artificial Intelligence Frontiers

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
disinformation countermeasures and artificial intelligence frontiers

arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. The Cambridge Analytica affair showed how psychological profiling and targeted ads could influence elections.

But as technology evolves, the tools of persuasion are no longer just in the hands of advertisers — they’re in the hands of machines. Artificial intelligence has made it possible to automate disinformation, blurring the line between truth and fabrication. The same algorithms that recommend movies or products can now generate entire fake news campaigns — complete with fabricated images, videos, and social media posts. The result is a digital ecosystem where reality competes with synthetic content. Traditional disinformation campaigns required human effort — writing posts, creating memes, or maintaining fake accounts. AI has revolutionized this process by automating every step:

Together, these technologies form an ecosystem of machine-generated manipulation capable of influencing opinions at scale and speed previously unimaginable. Among all AI tools, deepfakes are perhaps the most dangerous. By training on thousands of images and videos, neural networks can synthesize realistic footage of people saying or doing things they never did. In the rapidly evolving digital age, the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation poses significant challenges to societal trust and information integrity. Recognizing the urgency of addressing this issue, this systematic review endeavors to explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in combating the spread of false information. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of how AI technologies have been utilized from 2014 to 2024 to detect, analyze, and mitigate the impact of misinformation across various platforms.

This research utilized an exhaustive search across prominent databases such as ProQuest, IEEE Explore, Web of Science, and Scopus. Articles published within the specified timeframe were meticulously screened, resulting in the identification of 8103 studies. Through elimination of duplicates and screening based on title, abstract, and full-text review, we meticulously distilled this vast pool to 76 studies that met the study’s eligibility criteria. Key findings from the review emphasize the advancements and challenges in AI applications for combating misinformation. These findings highlight AI’s capacity to enhance information verification through sophisticated algorithms and natural language processing. They further emphasize the integration of human oversight and continual algorithm refinement emerges as pivotal in augmenting AI’s effectiveness in discerning and countering misinformation.

By fostering collaboration across sectors and leveraging the insights gleaned from this study, researchers can propel the development of ethical and effective AI solutions. This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access. Price excludes VAT (USA) Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. Baptista JP, Gradim A (2022) A working definition of fake news. Encyclopedia 2(1):66

Frontiers in Political Science (Feb 2025) Disinformation has recently become a subject of widespread concerns across the globe. To combat this issue, various initiatives have emerged, aimed at identifying, tracking, and debunking disinformation. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been incorporated as a tool to counter disinformation, but its implementation has not always been successful and may even be counterproductive. Thus, there is a growing recognition of the need for benchmarking the various ongoing efforts to ensure greater efficacy and coordination in the use of AI and assure that this does not lead to... Our goal is to provide a mapping of the projects that use AI to counter disinformation by means of their hyperlink network analysis to shed light on their aims, approaches, and challenges.

Our research integrity and auditing teams lead the rigorous process that protects the quality of the scientific record

People Also Search

ArXivLabs Is A Framework That Allows Collaborators To Develop And

arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add v...

But As Technology Evolves, The Tools Of Persuasion Are No

But as technology evolves, the tools of persuasion are no longer just in the hands of advertisers — they’re in the hands of machines. Artificial intelligence has made it possible to automate disinformation, blurring the line between truth and fabrication. The same algorithms that recommend movies or products can now generate entire fake news campaigns — complete with fabricated images, videos, and...

Together, These Technologies Form An Ecosystem Of Machine-generated Manipulation Capable

Together, these technologies form an ecosystem of machine-generated manipulation capable of influencing opinions at scale and speed previously unimaginable. Among all AI tools, deepfakes are perhaps the most dangerous. By training on thousands of images and videos, neural networks can synthesize realistic footage of people saying or doing things they never did. In the rapidly evolving digital age,...

This Research Utilized An Exhaustive Search Across Prominent Databases Such

This research utilized an exhaustive search across prominent databases such as ProQuest, IEEE Explore, Web of Science, and Scopus. Articles published within the specified timeframe were meticulously screened, resulting in the identification of 8103 studies. Through elimination of duplicates and screening based on title, abstract, and full-text review, we meticulously distilled this vast pool to 76...

By Fostering Collaboration Across Sectors And Leveraging The Insights Gleaned

By fostering collaboration across sectors and leveraging the insights gleaned from this study, researchers can propel the development of ethical and effective AI solutions. This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access. Price excludes VAT (USA) Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. The data presented in this study are available on request from th...