Companies Spring Up To Battle Online Disinformation

Companies are springing up that are using artificial intelligence to monitor online groups to alert companies if they’re being exploited by disinformation online. We see this as a great compliment to our online reputation management industry.

One company started by John Kelly a Ph.D. in 2013, is called Graphika. The network analysis company is a world leader in determining how social networks develop online, and how they are exploited. As a managed services and SAAS company, Graphika’s innovative technology produces explorable, large scale social network maps. The company\‘s detailed analysis uncovers helpful insights that allow clients to understand diverse online communities - and take corrective action where necessary.

Graphika’s proprietary technology is extremely versatile and effective at combating the spread of disinformation in a number of contexts. Top Silicon Valley brands use Graphika to identify and track disinformation campaigns. Fortune 500 firms will be depending on reputation management and firms like this for disinformation detection, strategic messaging advice, and advanced market research.

Human rights organizations in many countries have partnered with companies like Graphika, to assess online risks to vulnerable people. Respected think tanks and educational institutions use Graphika’s maps to research disinformation dissemination. An anti-disinformation campaign creates maps reflecting the relationship structures between social media users. Then, it subdivides these intricate networks in line with relationship patterns. The technology finds out how groups form on the Internet, and reveals how data and influence flow within expansive networks.

Graphika has an unparalleled reputation, with regard to addressing contentious global problems on social networks. The company’s expert team works hard to detect disinformation and ensure the integrity of elections. Something that is at the forefront of the news and media this year.

They serve a wide range of clients to safeguard platforms, organizations, and societies from malicious, coordinated online activities. Facebook is one such client that Graphika supports in the constant battle for online authenticity. In 2018, shortly before the Bangladesh general elections, dubious pages designed to resemble news portals appeared on the social network. Graphika used various analysis methods and resources to locate amplification drivers and bots on the platform that promoted political propaganda.

The company monitored the content of dubious pages and traced their origins. In addition, it scanned for coordinated activity using its Coordination Framework tool. As a result of disinformation research and advice, Facebook surmised that the pages were intended to appear like impartial news channels, but published anti-opposition and pro government content. These actions were deemed to violate Facebook’s policy on misrepresentation.

Six accounts on Facebook linked to Bangladesh government employees were subsequently deleted, along with nine pages. This helped to ensure that the network was not used to perpetuate false information and compromise the democratic process. Graphika gives clients easy access to detailed insights, exposing the influence of key leadership figures and how they interact with certain audiences. Moreover, it can track targeted campaigns of disinformation aimed at brands or individuals.

The company can analyze structural abnormalities rapidly, for different large scale campaigns. Also, it can navigate through the maps that clients have in their portfolios. Graphika’s sophisticated machine learning technology identifies granular communities. Through a process of network reduction, this algorithm finds communities associated with relevant subjects. Clients can use this data to communicate with their audiences effectively, during periods of crisis.

By uncovering meaningful discussions about brands on social networks, Graphika helps businesses identify who is interested in them, and where there is scope for them to expand their influence. In turn, this allows brands to target their messaging and content appropriately for optimum results. Better still, this process reveals key subjects of interest that support expansion into new online communities.

Much of Graphika’s work is inspired by the philosophy that the web should be open and free and that citizens should be protected from oppression and censorship. The company works with the world’s sharpest minds, such as Oxford University, DARPA, and Harvard University, to improve its world class technology. This way, it can provide even deeper insights into people’s online behavior for future clients.

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