Wednesday, February 19, 2014

INCREDIBLE: A lie detector for social media is being built to try to verify online rumours.

The system will analyse, in real time, whether a posting online is true.It will also identify whether social media accounts have been created just to spread false information.

The aim is to help organisations, including governments and emergency services, to respond more effectively to events.The project grew from research based on the use of social media during the London riots in 2011.

The data being analysed will include posts on Twitter, comments in healthcare forums and public comments on Facebook.

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The researchers say that online rumours will be classified into four types:

*.Speculation - whether interest rates may rise, for example

*.Controversy - similar to that over the MMR vaccine

*.Misinformation - where something untrue is spread unwittingly

*.Disinformation - where false information is spread with malicious intent"There was a suggestion after the 2011 riots that social networks should have been shut down, to prevent the rioters using them to organise," said Dr Kalina Bontcheva, lead researcher on the project at the University of Sheffield.

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