About
The OpenFact project, spearheaded by Marcin Sawinski, Milena Strozyna, and their research team from the Department of Information Systems at Poznan University of Economy and Business, is making strides in the fight against fake news. This initiative involves the creation, development, and evaluation of AI tools capable of identifying false information in multiple languages, with a special emphasis on Polish. The project, which is financed by the Polish National Center for Research and Development, aims to augment the abilities of fact-checkers by scouring the internet for potential disinformation. In order to realize this ambition, the team gathers validated data from global fact-checking organizations and works closely with top fact-checkers in Poland. The data acquisition and processing require enormous resources that have been provided by The Bright Initiative as well as other important partnerships with giants like Google, Meta (formerly Facebook) and Harvard University.
- Large scale collaboration to tackle fake news online
- Promising a safer future, fostering a well-informed digital community
Challenge
The digital age has seen an unprecedented rise in the spread of fake news. To address this, the OpenFact project was initiated, aiming to detect fake news using artificial intelligence. However, the vastness of the internet and the sophistication of misinformation sources posed significant challenges. The Bright Initiative stepped in to provide the necessary tools, the Web Unlocker and its vast Proxies network. These tools enable them to efficiently fetch public web data from various zones, ensuring a comprehensive dataset for their research.
“Bright Data was key for our research because the data we need to conduct our research is not easy to find. We’re partnering with quite a few organizations, but the support we’ve been getting from The Bright Initiative is a game-changer for us. We’re amazed that The Bright Initiative exists to help researchers because when it comes to academic research, it’s not that easy to get funding.”
Marcin Sawinski, Poznan University
Impact
The first phase of the OpenFact project successfully delivered a dataset containing fake news in Polish, tailored for training AI algorithms. Additionally, they developed and implemented methods to detect misinformation. The ultimate goal is to create a solution that alerts users about the credibility of messages they encounter on popular search engines and social networks. This initiative not only aids in the fight against misinformation but also empowers the public to make informed decisions.
