Challenges for Automatic Detection of Fake News Related to Migration

Fake news and misinformation is a widespread phenomenon these days, affecting social media, alternative and traditional media. In a climate of increasing polarization and perceived societal injustice, the topic of migration is one domain that is frequently the target of fake news, addressing both migrants and citizens in host countries. The problem is inherently a multi-lingual and multi-modal one in that it involves information in an array of languages, material in textual, visual and auditory form and often involves communication in a language which may be unfamiliar to recipients or which these recipients only may have basic knowledge of. We argue that semi-automatic approaches, empowering users to gain a clearer picture and base their decisions on sound information, are needed to counter the problem of misinformation. In order to deal with the scale of the problem, such approaches involve a variety of technologies from the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this paper we identify a number of challenges related to implementing approaches for the detection of fake news in the context of migration. These include collecting multi-lingual and multi-modal datasets related to the migration domain, providing explanations of AI tools used in verification to both media professionals and consumers. Further efforts in truly collaborative AI will be needed.