Fighting Conspiracy Theories in SMs using Artificial Intelligence

Tech companies are using artificial intelligence to block conspiracy theories

Jitarth Jadeja is a man in his early 30s. A native of Australia, he has always been interested in US politics and the stories surrounding it. Ever since the first time he found QAnon in 2017, he spent hours reading through or watching random videos on social media platforms that support the conspiracy theory. At a certain stage, the obsession got so worse that all he talked about was QAnon. He is not alone. Many people fall victim to conspiracy theories that are loaded in social media. But today, the scenario has bettered. Tech companies are using artificial intelligence and its applications to block or silence conspiracy theories that could lead to wrong ideology.

Conspiracy theories are everywhere today. Starting from a small group of people gossiping about the earth being flat to social media theories that strongly support coronavirus came out from a lab, everything is useless information. What once were doubtful ideas with little evidence supporting them are now near facts, thanks to social media and people who wanted to balloon it. Besides, from staying on the internet, they are jumping into the real world and causing harm and danger to whoever or whatever is thought to be the cause of the theory. But social media platforms and the companies behind them can't leave it as it is. Henceforth, they are seeking help from technology. Artificial intelligence and its sub-technologies are being used to identify dangerous conspiracy theories. Once they are found to be harmful, the platforms delete them right away to stop the spread of misinformation.

Famous conspiracy theories on social media

Social media and conspiracy theories go hand in hand. People who believe in conspiracy theories are mostly those who engage in online content. Ever since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, a lengthy lockdown that we never expected followed. Professionals who were busy running after their schedule were cramped at the house with no option but to stare at the mobile, laptop, or computer screens. This paved the way for conspiracy theories to escalate more. Famous talks like China creating coronavirus at a lab, coronavirus was weaponized, and 5G mobile networks were helping spread it was going around in social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. make it easier to propagate fake news and conspiracy theories easier than ever. While some were harmless, some others became a tool for spreading hatred and violence. Let's go through some of the famous conspiracy theories that have a stronghold on people's hearts.

QAnon: QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory that portrays former US President Donald Trump as a hero. According to the groundless stories, Trump is secretly fighting a 'deep state' cabal of satanic pedophiles and cannibals. It started in 2017 when a person claiming to a high-level government official posted details of the inner workings of the government on the anonymous messaging board 4chan. The recent Jan the 6th Capitol violence is also seen as an extended action plan of the QAnon believers.

Coronavirus was engineered: The worst of conspiracy theories is that coronavirus is engineered. Besides starting speculations, people also took the disease lightly because of misinformation. Those who believed in the conspiracy theory failed to get tested or treated when they found Covid-19 symptoms and fell to an ill fate.

Bill Gates and microchips: The craziest theory that went around during the lockdown period was Bill Gates, the principal Founder of Microsoft Corporation planning to use the potential of coronavirus to implant microchips to monitor the movement of billions of people. It even led to protests and hatred among people.

How AI is used to stop conspiracy theories?

Social media giants are using artificial intelligence to filter groundless content and stop misinformation. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, etc. rely on AI moderation to increase its reliance on proactive detection in the areas to remove violent content.

To help social media companies, a University of California data analytics group led by professors Timothy Tangherlini and Vwani Roychowdhury has developed an automated process for spotting social media activity showing the sign of misinformation through machine learning. The data analytics group has employed an artificial intelligence algorithm to facilitate better monitoring and the prevention of actual harm prompted by online conspiracy theories. The team identified certain patterns that reflected on disjointed rumors to clear conspiracy theories. Hey used machine learning algorithms that are ideal for finding and making sense of data patterns. Further, they created a set of machine learning tools focused on identifying misinformation based on how sets of people, places, and things are related to theories.

But there are also some downsides to the detection. Artificial intelligence might struggle to match the accuracy of humans, particularly when there are fewer people to review the decisions. Google, YouTube, and Twitter have also warned that increased reliance on automated moderation will lead to more content being unfairly removed.