The technology contributes to a project by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which aims to develop and demonstrate technologies to combat false and misleading information on the Internet.
NEC is developing technology that uses AI to analyze the reliability of information on the Internet from multiple perspectives and support fact-checking. This initiative is part of a project by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan to develop and demonstrate technologies to combat false and misleading information on the Internet.
The effectiveness of the technology will be evaluated by fact-checking organizations such as the Japan Fact-check Center (*1) and mass media outlets, including broadcasters, with the aim of improving its reliability. The period of this demonstration project is from August 2024 to March 2025.
Structure of the new technology
The large volume of false and misleading information on the Internet has become a growing problem, and technologies to combat this problem are attracting increasing attention. Fact-checking organizations and media outlets responsible for disseminating highly reliable information are faced with the challenge of the great effort required to determine the reliability of information. NEC’s technology to support fact-checking uses cutting-edge AI, such as Large-Scale Language Models (LLM), to analyze and judge the authenticity of content.
Technology Overview
The technology uses AI to analyze whether content composed of multiple types of data (text, images, video, and audio) is false. First, the technology detects whether images and other data have been manipulated, and the AI then recognizes the different types of data and converts them into text. Then, specialized Large Scale Language Models (LLM) that analyze false information evaluate the text to determine whether the content is accurate, whether the information has a reliable source, and whether there are inconsistencies between the data (e.g., discrepancies between the text and video content).
Additionally, the technology creates documents in a format similar to reports and articles prepared by experts at fact-checking organizations and helps improve fact-checking operations by allowing adjustments as per user instructions, such as deleting unreliable information or adding new information.
Fact-checking organizations such as the Japan Fact-check Center and mass media outlets including TV broadcasters will evaluate the technology's performance with the aim of improving its reliability and making it available for practical application in fiscal years 2025 to 2026.
Under the “NEC BluStellar” (*2) value delivery model, NEC is transforming business models with cutting-edge technologies to help solve challenges for consumers and society.
(*1) Japan Fact-check Center: https://www.factcheckcenter.jp/english-page/
(*2) 
NEC provides comprehensive services for digital transformation (DX) through the “NEC BluStellar” value delivery model. NEC BluStellar transforms business models to address social and business challenges by applying a broad range of industry knowledge and cutting-edge technology expertise throughout the DX process, from strategic consulting for customers to implementation.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies, advancing the brand statement of “Orchestrating a Brighter World.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to the rapid changes occurring in both society and the marketplace by delivering social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.
