HackFake Hackathon: Uniting Minds for Truth in Digital Media

Title: "HackFake Hackathon: Uniting Minds for Truth in Digital Media"

In a collaborative effort, humanities students from VNS College Konni, Calicut University, and engineers from the Tinkerhub Community, joined forces with industry experts in a 36-hour 'HackFake Hackathon' on November 11th and 12th, 2023, at TinkerSpace, Kochi. Organized by the Citizen Digital Foundation and the Tinkerhub Foundation, with support from media partners Mathrubhumi, The Fourth News, Dool News, and Mathrubhumi Media School, the event aimed to combat misinformation in Indian vernacular media.

Participants focused on developing a fact-checking aid for Malayalam text-based news, employing machine learning techniques to identify patterns indicative of misinformation. The tool, created during the hackathon, serves as a partial screening mechanism for news reports, aiding journalists, fact-checkers, and researchers in the Malayalam news media. Humanities students played a crucial role in annotating the knowledge database based on fact-checking criteria provided by media partners.

Emphasizing responsible tech, the hackathon aimed to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to explore innovative solutions for techno-social problems. The open-source nature of the tool underscores the commitment to further developments in the space, fostering collaborative efforts in the fight against misinformation. This initiative marks a significant step towards preserving truth and trust for a healthy democracy.