Meta has collaborated with the Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) to launch the WhatsApp helpline for Indian users to report and complain about deepfakes. The WhatsApp helpline for deepfakes will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. The public rollout of the feature is scheduled for March 2024. Support for more regional languages is also expected soon.
The rise of false information from AI-generated content has become a concerning issue in the world, and this was also addressed by PM Narendra Modi. The new initiative will also help citizens verify messages that circulate over social media.
WhatsApp Helpline for Deepfakes: How Will It Work?
The MCA will set up a dedicated central deepfake analysis unit which will conduct fact-checking based on the viral trends happening on social media. They will also evaluate all individual reports made by users for misinformation and check whether it was generated by AI. Messages that are fake or misleading will be highlighted by the unit to raise awareness among the general public.
The initiative will follow an approach with four main objectives, which are “detection, prevention, reporting, and driving awareness.” The alliance has already been doing fact-checking by collaborating with various entities, and the same service will now be accessible to users on WhatsApp. WhatsApp has already partnered with 11 fact-checking organizations to curb the spread of fake news.
According to a recent report by Reuters, a group of 20 tech companies which includes OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Meta, X (formerly Twitter), and many others have agreed to identify and tackle AI-generated deepfakes on the internet. These companies will work together to filter out deceptive content on their respective platforms and create public awareness among users to identify fake content.
As AI-powered tools become more easily accessible to users, regulating deepfake content will be a challenging task for tech companies and even governments. Meta has also decided to label AI-generated images on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, which is another way of curbing the spread of fake AI-generated content.
