International | The lie-detectors

Fact-checkers forecast which dodgy claims will do most damage

How to distinguish between weapons-grade disinformation and everyday codswallop

A meter reading 'Codswallop' to detect lies and fake news.
Illustration: Erik Carter
|PERUGIA|2 min read

Correcting the gigabytes of digital gibberish that circulate at high speed online is a never-ending task. YouTube removed more than half a million channels last year for broadcasting misinformation. Facebook and Instagram deleted 27m falsehoods about covid-19 at the height of the pandemic. The doughty fact-checking organisations that try to keep the internet honest face more claims than they can handle. How should they prioritise?

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This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The lie-detectors”

From the May 17th 2025 edition

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