With 2018 mid-term Congressional elections approaching, online space is filled with misinformation. To counter the trend and share authenticated content, the Arizona State University’s Weaponized Narrative Initiative and Luminosity Lab is partnering with Truepic, a photo authenticity platform.
The initiative will document and report on political developments, while also tracking verified events across the country. Fake images will be countered by the users of the Truepic technology, who will be able to share their authentic images and videos publically to promote the genuine content.
“It is incredible to watch the development and deployment of technologies that weaponize information streams to the extent that citizens, can no longer tell what is real, and what has been manufactured to mislead them,” Brad Allenby, Co-Director of the Weaponized Narrative Initiative, said.
“In an effort to raise awareness and stem this trend, ASU is partnering with Truepic to try to counter these attacks with authenticated images that defend rationality and transparency in yet another critical way.”
Earlier, both the Narrative Initiative and Truepic participated in a Tech Demo Series of the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), which is spearheading the U.S. government’s efforts to counter disinformation and propaganda from international terrorist organizations and foreign countries.
“We believe that the ultimate solution to the crisis of disinformation will not come from one sector, but, instead, will be a whole-of-society approach, including collaboration between technologists and academia,” Jeff McGregor, Truepic CEO, said. “We look forward to our partnership with Arizona State University which will no doubt help us continue innovating and developing technology to return trust in images around the world.”