The Internet has made more information available at our fingertips than ever before, but the truth is that we cannot trust everything that is published. Hoaxes, also known as fake news, have become a constant challenge for society, affecting everything from political communication to our daily lives. With the rise of generative artificial intelligence, the creation and propagation of misleading content has reached unprecedented levels, making fact-checking more crucial than ever.
In this article we talk about how hoaxes have evolved in the network, how we can identify them and, if you stay until the end, you will learn about TU VerifAI, a tool developed by the Telefónica Innovación Digital team that will be very useful to combat those that have been created with images or video that, although they seem real, have been generated with artificial intelligence.
How internet hoaxes have evolved
Internet hoaxes are not a new phenomenon, but they have evolved. No longer limited to simple text or images, they now include video manipulation created with deepfake technology and AI image generators that can be indistinguishable from reality to the untrained eye. These fake news stories spread rapidly through social networks, taking advantage of our confirmation biases and the snowball effect that amplifies their reach.
The ease with which digital content can be created and distributed has led to an alarming increase in disinformation. Hoaxes can take many forms, from harmless rumors to generating videos and images that become part of disinformation campaigns designed to influence elections or discredit individuals and organizations.
Finally, the ability of digital platforms to viralize this type of content further exacerbates the problem, making it increasingly difficult to discern between truthful and misleading information.
Impact of misinformation on our society
The impact that misinformation can have on people is profound and complex, because it can affect our daily lives in a multitude of areas.
If we talk about political communication, for example, hoaxes can influence public opinion and even electoral results. The manipulation of images and information can lead to decisions based on erroneous facts, affecting not only voters, but also public policies and trust in democratic institutions.
In journalism, hoaxes erode trust in traditional media and challenge journalistic ethics. Fake news published by some media-like portals make people start to doubt everything. And there is less and less information that can be considered irrefutable truth.
On a personal level, they can lead us to make decisions based on unreliable information that can end up affecting our health, our family finances or our interpersonal relationships.
In addition, the spread of fake news can generate social panic or distrust of institutions, which in turn feeds a negative cycle that is difficult to break.
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How to identify hoaxes and fake news
But then, how can we combat all this tide of misinformation? For starters, critical thinking is our first line of defense.
Before sharing a news item, we should ask ourselves a series of questions to help us identify the key points: what is the source, is it a reliable source, is the information corroborated by other reputable media?
Thus, fact-checking has become an essential skill in the digital age. In response to this problem, entities that provide detailed analysis of specific claims and help to disprove misleading information have been proliferating for some time.
Fortunately, the technology that facilitates the creation of hoaxes also provides us with AI tools to combat them. Companies like Meta and Google are implementing algorithms to detect and reduce the spread of misleading content on their platforms. These measures are a positive step towards a healthier information environment.
TU VerifAI, the AI detector you need
Beyond what others do, there is what you can do yourself. And that’s where AI tools like TU VerifAI, developed by Telefónica Innovación Digital, are making a significant leap forward.
TU VerifAI is an AI detector that uses artificial intelligence itself to find out whether a piece of content – be it an image, an audio or a video – has been manipulated with AI or not. You only have to upload to the platform what you need to check and in a matter of seconds you will have a clear and concise diagnosis of whether what you have in your hands is real or a fabrication.
This is a clear example of how AI can be used not only to create misleading content, but also to combat it.
With TU VerifAI, journalists and researchers can quickly verify the authenticity of the digital content they encounter. By providing detailed analysis of manipulated images or fake videos, this tool becomes an invaluable resource for those who are 100% committed to truthful information.
What we have learned and how we can apply it
As we have recalled in this article, internet hoaxes represent a major but by no means insurmountable challenge. If we combine critical thinking, fact-checking services and AI tools like TU VerifAI, we can build an information ecosystem that is still reliable and resistant to misinformation.
We encourage you not to lose that skeptical view of what you see on the Internet, knowing that every day there are more and more ways to detect truthful information from what is not.
