The growing prevalence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in misinformation and disinformation has prompted Australia’s leading fact-checking organisation to create a new online educational campaign encouraging critical thinking.
AAP FactCheck, with support from Meta, is today launching a campaign highlighting the increasing sophistication of generative AI and emphasising the need for people to think carefully about the content they share.
Coinciding with the launch of Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week, the online campaign gamifies the issue, challenging people to see if they can discern between images generated by AI and the real photographs that inspired them.
“Generative AI is getting more advanced every day and it’s increasingly a feature of the misinformation and disinformation circulating online in this region,” AAP FactCheck Editor Ben James said.
“You can’t always tell if something is AI-generated just by looking at it, but the good news is that even the most convincing AI-generated misinformation and disinformation can be defused via a combination of critical thinking and a cautious approach to sharing.”
Rooted in the practical skills of professional fact-checkers, the campaign warns: “Looks can be deceiving”, encouraging people to interrogate content and check trusted sources before hitting the share button. Resource articles linked to the bite-sized videos add depth to the campaign, sharing practical tools and tips from the AAP FactCheck team.
Meta’s Regional Director of Public Policy for Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Pacific Islands, Mia Garlick, said media literacy skills would continue to be vital.
“The potential benefits of generative AI to help boost creativity, generate new ideas and increase productivity are significant, but as the use of generative AI technology increases in Australia, so too does the need for strong media literacy and critical thinking skills,” Ms Garlick said.
“This is why Meta is pleased to support AAP in delivering this important campaign, which aims to help empower people in Australia to ask questions and think deeply about the information they consume and create.”
The AAP FactCheck campaign will run across Meta’s platforms in Australia for four weeks. Featuring a series of videos and posts, the campaign encourages people to carefully consider the veracity of content before accepting it as reliable.
This is the fourth in a series of media literacy educational initiatives delivered by AAP FactCheck in partnership with Meta.
