HKBU launches fact-checking service to fight fake news

With the vision of providing an authoritative, professional and impartial fact-checking service amidst the proliferation of fake news, and to improve the public's media literacy in the digital era, the School of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) launched the HKBU FactCheck Service today (29 December). It is the first research-based, systematic fact-checking service launched and operated by an independent academic institution in Hong Kong. 

First fact-checking service operated by a Hong Kong academic institution

As a “research-public service” product, the Service is characterised by a high level of transparency as well as an integration with academic research in journalism and communication studies. It develops towards the direction of a human-machine hybrid intelligence system, representing an innovative concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-supported fact-checking. 

The pilot run of the Service involving manual fact-checking was carried out in September this year. Selected suspicious content appearing in popular online and social media platforms in Hong Kong were identified for investigation by the project team. The topics covered politics, business, health, science and other social issues. Results of the fact-checking were shared on the Service’s website and social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.