International Fact-Checking Network launches WhatsApp chatbot to fight fake news

The Poynter Institute’s International Fact Checking Network (IFCN), today launched a WhatsApp chatbot that will be used to dispel rumours around the coronavirus and other fake news. The bot allows users to ask questions about the virus or look at latest fact checks published by official fact checkers from both India and overseas.

“Chatbots are among the new tools that fact-checkers have been using to widen their audiences and automate some of their workflows to reply to the inquiries they get from them,” said Baybars Orsek, Director, IFCN. “Users need to reach authouritative information has been exponentially increasing during a crisis like this, therefore we at the IFCN also decided to invest in this area,” Orsek added.

Chatbots have been a common solution for increasing the flow of credible information during the pandemic. Other than the IFCN, WhatsApp has also partnered with governments, including many in India, and other organisations to create such solutions. “According to ComScore, news and information is the number one content category consumed in India, as compared to entertainment worldwide,” said Orsek.