Univision News presents the 'elDetector chatbot', where you can now have access to verified information, with contrasted data and expert sources, all via a WhatsApp message. You can send audio, image or text that may seem suspicious to you and the elDetector team will verify it for you.
Just as you interact daily with chatbots - those computer programs that simulate conversations at the bank, supermarket, grocery store or phone company - with elDetector's chatbot you can get a service that will allow you to reduce misinformation for you and your loved ones. Is this video manipulated? Is there evidence of what this audio says? Is this image authentic? Add the number +1 786 685 8284 to your contacts on WhatsApp, say hello to bring up the options menu, send the content you want to check and you will receive a response telling you if it is true or not.
Send us something you want us to verify in the chat. Click here:
Univision News' ElDetector is the first Spanish-language fact-checking unit in the United States, starting in 2016. It was created to combat false messages targeting the Hispanic community. In 2020, during the election campaign, it became part of the FactChat network and in 2021 it was certified by the International Fact Checkers Network ( IFCN). Today he joins WhatsApp's global fact-checking programme, which currently has more than 80 fact-checking organisations around the world.
"Univision News' ElDetector has strengthened our public service journalism. We have been able to verify and explain facts about covid-19 and vaccines when our community has needed it most," said Leopoldo Gomez, president of Univision News (Univision Noticias).
"As the leading source of news and information for the Hispanic community, we have created this important partnership with WhatsApp to continue fulfilling our commitment to inform and empower our audience through quality journalism," Gómez added.
Tamoa Calzadilla, director of elDetector, says: "It was very challenging to fact-check during the elections and the pandemic because of the amount of misinformation that was circulating in the United States and because of what it means to cater to the Hispanic community where information gaps exist. The fact-checking world in this country caters very well to English speakers, but not to Hispanics, and that's exactly the community we're going to serve with this chat.
With more than 2 billion users, WhatsApp is the world's largest private messaging service and, in many countries, the primary way people communicate with each other. "We are excited to see Univision News leverage the power of messaging tools to connect Spanish-speaking WhatsApp users in the U.S. with credible information," said Orlando Watson, a member of WhatsApp's strategic partnerships team.
"Univision News is renowned for providing vital reporting and information to Spanish-speaking audiences in the United States, and we are confident that their fact-checking team will provide WhatsApp users with an equally important service on our platform," said Karishma Shah, a member of WhatsApp's Integrity and Partnerships team.
Finally, the project has an academic and training component for future fact checkers: Univision News and the Bilingual Journalism Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY will together address queries from the Hispanic community through this chatbot. "This partnership will allow students to receive training and collaborate with elDetector to learn how to identify and address misinformation in Spanish," said Carmen Graciela Díaz, director of the Bilingual Journalism major at the Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY.
"We are proud to collaborate with Univision News in the training of Spanish-language fact-checkers in the US through our Advanced Reporting on Latino Communities class, led by professors Adriana Gallardo and Inti Pacheco," said Díaz.
Want to know more about what we do? elDetector has its own website. It distributes content through graphic formats such as image galleries (text cards), infographics, video reports and TV segments in our Digital Edition. It is on Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok as @eldetectorunivision and on Twitter as @eldetectoruni. In addition, we have available the email eldetector@univision.net, for any query and for requesting corrections to our reporting.
Did you spot an error or inaccuracy? Help us to correct it. We also want to read if there is a message or image you want us to check. Write to us at eldetector@univision.net
Here you can learn about our methodology and corrections policy.
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El Detector: Verificamos el video de una charla de ‘Médicos por la Verdad’ con falsedades sobre la pandemia
