Diogo Castro dos Santos

diogo.castro@unifesp.br
Doctor of Science (DSc)
Federal University of São Paulo

M ET HOD OLO GY TO
T RAC K A N D S TO P
FA K E NEW S S P RE AD I N
S OC I AL N E TWO RK S

BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL
10/31/2018
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Methodology to Track and Stop Fake News Spread in Social Networks

Diogo Castro dos Santos

Doctor of Science (DSc)
diogo.castro@unifesp.br

In the digital era, social networks are a source of information and news for an
increasing number of people, which means that billions are sharing messages and posts
in real time every day. However, without fact-checking, editorial review, and the
distinction between genuine and inaccurate information, the social media is susceptible
to the substantial spread of misinformation.
This type of news and information is known as fake news and it is a phenomenon
with serious consequences to society, democratic institutions, news media, as well as
the social network used as a tool for fake news propagation. Examples of serious
consequences caused by fake news spread in social networks are the 2016 elections in
the United States, challenges to the credibility of news media, and the wave of beatings
and deaths in India.
Current research has not solved the problem, and this issue continues to
challenge researchers and developers in the implementation of a methodology that is
truly capable of tracking and stop the spread of fake news.
In the summary of this project, we introduce a systematic overview of an efficient
and effective methodology to track and stop the spread of fake news in social networks:

1. When a message/post is forwarded in a social network, it receives an exclusive

identification code, which is displayed at the top of the message/post (figure 1):

Figure 1 When a message/post is forwarded from one user to another, the social
network attributes an exclusive identification code to the message/post, shown at the
top of the message/post.
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2. Social networks establish a partnership, in each country, with local

communication channels (news media, television broadcasters, specialized
magazines, etc.), similar to the project Comprova in Brazil
(http://www.projetocomprova.com.br), aimed at:

2.1. Providing channels for the population to report suspicious messages and
posts (websites, WhatsApp numbers, etc.);
2.2. Analyzing the received reports (fact-checking);
2.3. Integrating the result of the analysis with the database provided by a
social network, publishing the result of the related analyses with the
respective exclusive identification code of the message/post, in a
database provided by the social network (figure 2).

Figure 2 Social networks establish a partnership, in each country, with local

communication vehicles to analyze the reports received (fact-checking) and publish the
result of the analyses, related with the respective exclusive identification code of the
message/post, in a database provided by the social network.

3. When a message is forwarded again, the social network queries the database
using the message/post exclusive identification code. Upon verifying that the
forwarded message/post is registered as fake news, the social network displays
a warning to the user with the link to the analysis, published by the communication
channels and prevents the spread of fake news (figure 3).

Figure 3 When a message is forwarded again, the social network queries the database
using the message/post exclusive identification code, and displays a warning to the user
with the link to the analysis published by the communication vehicles.
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4. Social networks and media teams should become part of virtual groups and
communities in different regions of the country. The goal is to identify
automatically, via robots pre-programmed for this purpose, new insertions of the
same message/post with a exclusive identification code, different from the one
originally registered in the database. If a message, already registered in the
database, is identified, but with a new code, this new code will be linked to the
previously registered code and analysis.

5. To track the source of the first message/post insertion, the social network also
registers the sender (WhatsApp phone number, device IP address, geographic
location data, date and time, etc.) when generating, for the first time, the exclusive
identification code. Tracking the origin of the message/post makes it possible to
adopt measures to subsidize possible investigations or automatic blocking of the
profile, among others, aiming at protecting the social network from new fake
news.

6. This methodology is designed to be implemented in conjunction with current

mechanisms provided by social networks, to ensure the privacy of
messages/posts, such as the point-to-point encryption used by WhatsApp, the
processing speed required for the efficient functioning of social networks, and
data and infrastructure security.

7. The quality assurance and impartiality of the published analyzes are ensured by
the plurality of editorial lines adopted by the members of the communication
channels, and the citation of the sources of the information on which it is based.

Once the social media implements this approach, it will bring important benefits
to society, technology companies, news media, democratic institutions, as well as, to the
life of thousands of people in the world.