via University of Notre Dame
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are using artificial intelligence to develop an early warning system that will identify manipulated images, deepfake videos and disinformation online. The project is an effort to combat the rise of coordinated social media campaigns to incite violence, sow discord and threaten the integrity of democratic elections.
The scalable, automated system uses content-based image retrieval and applies computer vision-based techniques to root out political memes from multiple social networks.
“Memes are easy to create and even easier to share,” said Tim Weninger, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Notre Dame. “When it comes to political memes, these can be used to help get out the vote, but they can also be used to spread inaccurate information and cause harm.”
Weninger, along with Walter Scheirer, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Notre Dame, and members of the research team collected more than two million images and content from various sources on Twitter and Instagram related to the 2019 general election in Indonesia. The results of that election, in which the left-leaning, centrist incumbent garnered a majority vote over the conservative, populist candidate, sparked a wave of violent protests that left eight people dead and hundreds injured. Their study found both spontaneous and coordinated campaigns with the intent to influence the election and incite violence.
Those campaigns consisted of manipulated images exhibiting false claims and misrepresentation of incidents, logos belonging to legitimate news sources being used on fabricated news stories and memes created with the intent to provoke citizens and supporters of both parties.
While the ramifications of such campaigns were evident in the case of the Indonesian general election, the threat to democratic elections in the West already exists. The research team at Notre Dame, comprised of digital forensics experts and specialists in peace studies, said they are developing the system to flag manipulated content to prevent violence, and to warn journalists or election monitors of potential threats in real time.
The system, which is in the research and development phase, would be scalable to provide users with tailored options for monitoring content. While many challenges remain, such as determining an optimal means of scaling up data ingestion and processing for quick turnaround, Scheirer said the system is currently being evaluated for transition to operational use.
Development is not too far behind when it comes to the possibility of monitoring the 2020 general election in the United States, he said, and their team is already collecting relevant data.
“The disinformation age is here,” said Scheirer. “A deepfake replacing actors in a popular film might seem fun and lighthearted but imagine a video or a meme created for the sole purpose of pitting one world leader against another — saying words they didn’t actually say. Imagine how quickly that content could be shared and spread across platforms. Consider the consequences of those actions.”
Weninger, Scheirer and Michael Yankoski, a doctoral candidate in theology and peace studies at Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, recently described the system in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Disinformation online
- Alex Knopp (opinion): Will CT become a front in the disinformation war waged by foreign adversaries?
CT's campaign finance law contains loophole that lets foreign entities spend funds without limit to influence outcome of state and local ballot referenda ...
- EU probes Facebook, Instagram over election disinformation concerns
The EU on Tuesday launched an investigation into Meta's Facebook and Instagram over concerns the platforms are failing to counter disinformation ahead of EU elections in June. The probe is under the ...
- Meta Faces E.U. Investigation Over Election Disinformation
The inquiry is intended to pressure the tech giant to more aggressively police Facebook and Instagram ahead of the European Union’s closely watched elections in June.
- EU probe targets Facebook and Instagram amid spike in Russian disinformation
The European Commission has targeted Meta with a formal investigation to assess whether it’s doing enough to moderate political content, illegal content, and disinformation on Facebook and Instagram.
- Meta Could Face EU Fines Over Alleged Election Disinformation On Facebook And Instagram
Meta has likely failed to “diligently assess and adequately mitigate risks” related to Facebook’s and Instagram’s effects on “civil discourse and electoral processes and other systemic risks,” the ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Disinformation online
[google_news title=”” keyword=”disinformation online” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Online disinformation
- EU probes Facebook, Instagram over election disinformation concerns
The EU on Tuesday launched an investigation into Meta's Facebook and Instagram over concerns the platforms are failing to counter disinformation ahead of EU elections in June. The probe is under the ...
- Meta Faces E.U. Investigation Over Election Disinformation
The inquiry is intended to pressure the tech giant to more aggressively police Facebook and Instagram ahead of the European Union’s closely watched elections in June.
- Meta Could Face EU Fines Over Alleged Election Disinformation On Facebook And Instagram
Meta has likely failed to “diligently assess and adequately mitigate risks” related to Facebook’s and Instagram’s effects on “civil discourse and electoral processes and other systemic risks,” the ...
- EU probe targets Facebook and Instagram amid spike in Russian disinformation
The probe will assess whether Meta has breached the EU’s Digital Services Act rules regarding how political, deceptive, or illegal content is moderated.
- EU investigates Meta over fears of election interference and foreign disinformation
European Union officials are investigating Meta over concerns the company hasn’t done enough to protect upcoming EU elections or to combat foreign disinformation on its platforms, setting up the ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Online disinformation
[google_news title=”” keyword=”online disinformation” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]