Pheme plans to stop Twitter Facebook untruths

EVER fibbed on Facebook or twisted the truth on Twitter? Scientists are working to make sure honesty is the best policy.

Liar, liar ... scientists are working on a way to find fact from falsehood on social media.

SCIENTISTS in the EU are developing a tool to quickly analyse social media news and stop lies before they spread.

The inventor of the steam engine, James Watt once famously said that a lie can run around the world before the truth has got its boots on.

That was back in the 18th century, and lies can run much more rapidly in the social media age. So how do you tell what’s on the level, and what’s wild speculation, or for that matter an outright lie?

It’s a daunting task, but European researchers are working on an application to combat this problem.

Pheme’s task is ultimately to determine the veracity of statements made on social networking sites.

Or, in other words, if you’re fibbing on Facebook or truth-evading on Twitter, Pheme should — in time — be able to tell that you’re not being honest.

The objective for Pheme is to quell the spread of dangerous misinformation, citing the quickly spread (but totally false) rumour during the 2011 London riots that the London Eye was on fire.

Pheme, named partially as a nod towards “memes which are enhanced with truthfulness information”, but also after the Greek goddess of fame and rumours, is an EU-funded research project at the University of Sheffield that will assess large quantities of social media data over the next 18 months, testing each piece and classifying its veracity as either speculation, controversy, misinformation, or disinformation, and ultimately using that analysis to aid in the delivery of accurate reports rather than rapid mis- or disinformation.