Giving Compass' Take:

• To address truth decay, RAND Corporation complied a list of anti-disinformation tools addressing everything from bot/spam detection to whitelisting.

• How can funders increase the effectiveness and reach of tools like these? 

• Learn more about truth decay. 

The rise of the internet and the advent of social media have fundamentally changed the information ecosystem, giving the public direct access to more information than ever before. But it's often nearly impossible to distinguish accurate information from low-quality or false content. This means that disinformation—false or intentionally misleading information that aims to achieve an economic or political goal—can become rampant, spreading further and faster online than it ever could in another format.

As part of its Countering Truth Decay initiative, and with support from the Hewlett Foundation, RAND is responding to this urgent problem. Our researchers identified and characterized the universe of online tools developed by nonprofits and civil society organizations to target online disinformation. These tools were created to help information consumers, researchers, and journalists navigate today's challenging information environment.

Tools that work against disinformation take on many forms—from websites powered by human fact-checkers to apps that use artificial intelligence to detect bots. We've grouped the tools in this database into several categories, with some belonging to multiple categories.

This site focuses on the U.S. market and includes only tools created by civil society organizations and nonprofits.

Tool types:

  • Bot/spam detection
  • Codes and standards
  • Credibility scoring
  • Disinformation tracking
  • Education/training
  • Verification
  • Whitelisting

Read the full article about anti-disinformation tools at RAND Corporation.