Simpluz Tecnologias, an Angolan startup, has launched Nuxo, a machine learning-based artificial intelligence (AI) solution that allows consumers to rapidly and effectively identify fake news.
Simpluz Tecnologias, based in Luanda, has a record of combating fake news, having developed news aggregator Manifexto in 2017. However, with the rise of fake news and the time-consuming nature of fact-checking, it chose to switch from its “conventional” technique of fact-checking news to an automated one.
Nuxo, a simple tool to stop the spread of fake news, was created as a result of this. Anyone in the world can use the platform to analyze news in nearly any language. Available for free on Facebook as part of the Facebook Zero initiative.
The only thing Nuxo requires is a link to a news story. Users send a link, which Nuxo analyzes to see if it’s bogus news. The platform was first trained on a database of over 10,000 news stories, all of which had been pre-classified as true or false.
“After analysing all of them, the algorithm identified a pattern, something that humans cannot do. With this, an analysis base is created, and from then on, each news article that is processed and analysed has its result incorporated into the algorithm, thus allowing the machine to learn. This means that the more news being analysed by Nuxo, the more efficient, accurate and necessary it becomes,” said Zedilson de Almeida, general manager of Simpluz Tecnologias.
“Because of the work we do with Manifexto, in the fight against fake news, we receive several requests to identify and inform on the veracity of specific news articles. The fact-checking process is very time-consuming and demands people to research and investigate each of the requests. Because of this and knowing that many entities go through the same difficulties, we decided to use technology to facilitate the process, and empower the population in the process.”
