Five Projects Selected for the Innovation Fund for Combating Disinformation
After a rigorous selection process, five Brazilian news organizations have been chosen to receive investments of up to BRL$100,000 from Codesinfo – Innovation Fund for Combating Disinformation. The selected organizations are:
Ambiental Media (SC)
Aos Fatos (RJ)
Folha de S. Paulo (SP)
Folha do Mate (RS)
Núcleo Jornalismo (SP)
Each of these organizations proposed unique solutions, including fact-checking chatbots, systems for monitoring deceptive ads, automated production of journalistic videos, and plugins for updating contextual information in news reports.
During the selection phase, the program’s jury analyzed 47 proposals, evaluating criteria such as originality, technical feasibility, budget adequacy, level of innovation, and plans for sharing results.
Ambiental Media has used Codesinfo resources to develop an automated conversational assistant, or chatbot, that provides real-time, accurate responses for fact-checking climate change information, based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) database.
Aos Fatos, a fact-checking agency, has developed an automated monitoring tool that uses artificial intelligence to collect and analyze potentially misleading health-related advertisements that resemble news content (native ads).
Folha de S.Paulo has created a system that utilizes artificial intelligence to generate short videos from texts and images available in the newspaper’s database.
Folha do Mate has developed a plugin for news websites and publishing systems that verifies news sources and identifies content creators, providing easy access to a mini bio of the authors, their qualifications, and a verification seal for their identity.
Núcleo Jornalismo also plans to develop a plugin for news websites and publishing systems, enabling a card-based system that can automate contextual updates in previously published reports.
Over the next seven months, the selected organizations will develop detailed plans for their solutions while receiving support and mentorship from Projor. The results have been shared to facilitate replication by other companies and initiatives in the industry.
Projor expresses its gratitude to all organizations that submitted proposals to the program. We received a large number of inspiring projects of excellent technical quality. Although not all proposals could be selected, our institute deeply values the dedication of each participant. We will continue to encourage all news organizations listed in the Atlas da Notícia to persist in their journeys of innovation and collaboration. Together, we can more effectively combat disinformation and build a more trustworthy and transparent journalistic ecosystem for all.
