Misinformation Combat Alliance to launch WhatsApp tipline on Mar 25 to combat deepfakes

Ahead of general elections, the Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) is launching a Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU) tipline on March 25 to help detect and respond to AI-generated synthetic media, a release said on Thursday.

The move assumes significance as the countdown to elections in India has seen the industry scale up election integrity efforts, particularly to crack down on deepfakes and AI (Artificial Intelligence) deceptions.

The general elections are scheduled to be held in seven phases starting from April 19, and results will be declared on June 4.

"MCA's Deepfakes Analysis Unit launches WhatsApp tipline in collaboration with Meta to detect deepfakes," the release said.

With the latest initiative, any member of the public can forward audio notes and videos to +91 9999025044 on WhatsApp to get assessments on whether a piece of media is AI-generated or contains elements of it, the release said.

The tipline will offer support in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, the release said.

The launch of the WhatsApp tipline is in line with Meta's efforts to collaborate with industry stakeholders in the fact-checking ecosystem to build instruments that help curb the spread of AI-generated misinformation.

The MCA is a cross-industry alliance that brings together companies, organisations, institutions, industry associations and entities to collectively fight misinformation and its impact. Currently, MCA has 16 members, including fact-checking organisations, media outlets, and civic tech organisations, and is inviting strategic partners to collaborate on this industry-wide initiative to combat misinformation.

"We are thrilled to be launching India's first tipline to help citizens discern between real and synthetic media...We are working on having a wide set of partners and experts as we head into the elections and beyond," Pamposh Raina, Head of the DAU, said.

Raina said, "at the DAU, we will specifically address audio and video that could have the potential to mislead people on matters of public importance, and could even cause real-world harm." The DAU has been set up with the aim of providing the public with a trusted resource that will help them differentiate between real and synthetic media.

The initiative will tap into expertise from a network of partners - academicians, researchers, startups, tech platforms, and fact-checkers - to verify and assess the media content submitted to the tipline.

The assessment reports will be sent back to users in response to their messages. The reports will also be available on the DAU website and DAU's recently launched WhatsApp Channel which will serve as an authoritative source for people to receive verified and accurate information, according to the release.

DAU's partners include member fact-checking organisations as well as industry partners and digital labs that will help assess and verify the content.

The DAU is open to partnerships and collaborations with experts interested in synthetic media detection and media literacy around combating misinformation spread through generative AI.