IIIT-Delhi, Logically to improve detection of online misinformation

The ambition is to use the findings of the research to develop a state-of-the-art early warning system for widespread misinformation campaigns that will slow or stop its spread.

New Delhi: Artificial Intelligence (AI) start-up Logically and Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-D) on Thursday launched a two-year research partnership that will explore the provenance, motivations and psychology of misinformation shared online.

The partnership will combine IIIT-D’s leading AI research capabilities and Logically’s industry-leading technological expertise, with the aim of developing practical applications to improve how society can identify and impede misinformation and disinformation.

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The research also aims to address how to better identify those who share misinformation online, their motivations, networks and communities, and more accurately predict what type of false content will go viral before it’s shared at scale.

The ambition is to use the findings of the research to develop a state-of-the-art early warning system for widespread misinformation campaigns that will slow or stop its spread.

“We are thrilled that our first academic partnership is with such a prestigious institute as IIIT-D. I have no doubt that it will have both a hard-hitting and positive impact on how we mitigate the spread of misinformation and disinformation,” Anil Bandhakavi, Head of Data Science at Logically, said in a statement.

For Logically, it is the first academic partnership the company has embarked upon and the first time Assistant Professor Dr Tanmoy Chakraborty, who will be leading the team of researchers at IIIT-D, has personally partnered with a private company outside of India.

“We are looking forward to working with Logically and excited about what our partnership can achieve,” said Chakraborty.

“Disinformation campaigns are becoming more and more prolific in India, and we are hopeful that our findings will go some way towards solving the problem,” Chakraborty added.

Logically is also providing technical and financial support to IIIT-D to support the delivery of this research programme.