MBZUAI student Zain Muhammad Mujahid is researching methods to detect media bias using NLP and LLMs. His approach profiles bias across media outlets using LLMs like ChatGPT to predict bias based on 16 identifiers. The research aims to develop a tool that instantly provides a bias profile for a given media URL. Why it matters: This research has the potential to combat misinformation and enhance media literacy in the region by providing tools to identify biased reporting, and it is expanding to Arabic and other languages.
A new methodology emulating fact-checker criteria assesses news outlet factuality and bias using LLMs. The approach uses prompts based on fact-checking criteria to elicit and aggregate LLM responses for predictions. Experiments demonstrate improvements over baselines, with error analysis on media popularity and region, and a released dataset/code at https://github.com/mbzuai-nlp/llm-media-profiling.
MBZUAI Professor Preslav Nakov has developed FRAPPE, an interactive website that analyzes news articles to identify persuasion techniques. FRAPPE helps users understand framing, persuasion, and propaganda at an aggregate level, across different news outlets and countries. Presented at EACL, FRAPPE uses 23 specific techniques categorized into six broader buckets, such as 'attack on reputation' and 'manipulative wording'. Why it matters: The tool addresses the increasing difficulty in discerning factual information from disinformation, providing a means to identify biases in news media from different countries.
Muhammad Arslan Manzoor became MBZUAI's first NLP Ph.D. graduate, focusing his research on media bias under Professor Preslav Nakov. His thesis, 'MGM,' explored using audience overlap graphs to predict the factuality and bias of news media, an approach that differs from traditional textual analysis. Manzoor's work aims to improve the efficiency of media profiling in real-time by leveraging relationships captured in media graphs. Why it matters: This research offers innovative methods for identifying bias in news, which is crucial for promoting informed social discourse and combating disinformation in the region.
A study by MBZUAI's Preslav Nakov and Cornell co-authors examines how to develop systems that detect fake news in a landscape where text is generated by humans and machines. The research, presented at the 2024 Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics, analyzes fake news detectors' ability to identify human- and machine-written content. The study highlights biases in current detectors, which tend to classify machine-written news as fake and human-written news as true. Why it matters: Addressing these biases is crucial as machine-generated content becomes more prevalent in both real and fake news, requiring more nuanced detection methods.
MBZUAI researchers are studying how AI can be used to combat disinformation and improve news verification during elections, as AI amplifies the volume and speed of fake news. Dilshod Azizov is using machine learning to spot patterns in news that will improve verification, while Preslav Nakov's FRAPPE system identifies persuasive techniques and framing in news articles. FRAPPE uses machine learning and NLP to analyze news presentation and reporting, aiming to help users understand the underlying context of news. Why it matters: This research highlights the potential of AI to both negatively and positively impact democratic processes, emphasizing the need for tools to analyze and verify information in the face of increasing AI-generated disinformation.
A panel discussion hosted by MBZUAI in collaboration with the Manara Center for Coexistence and Dialogue addressed misinformation and its threat to elections. The talk covered the reasons behind the rise of misinformation, citizen perspectives, and the role of social media influencers. Two cases, the Indian general elections of 2024 and the upcoming US presidential elections in November 2024, were used to describe the contours of misinformation. Why it matters: Understanding the dynamics of misinformation, especially through social media influencers, is crucial for safeguarding democratic processes in the region and globally.
Researchers from MBZUAI, University of Washington, and other institutions presented studies at EMNLP 2024 exploring how LLMs represent cultures. A survey analyzed dozens of recent studies on LLMs and culture and proposes a new framework for future research. The survey found that there is no widely accepted definition of 'culture' in NLP, making it challenging to interpret how models represent culture through language. Why it matters: This highlights a key gap in the field and emphasizes the need for a more rigorous and consistent understanding of culture in AI, especially as LLMs become more globally integrated.