No industry is immune to misinformation, including food and drinks. KMi’s director, Harith Alani, was interviewed by Food Manufacture; the leading online resource for the UK’s food and drink manufacturing industry, to highlight the threat of misinformation in this sector. 

Recently, false claims about the feed additive Bovaer, for instance, caused unnecessary consumer panic and economic losses which were largely unpredicted. Harith notes that while detecting and tracking misinformation is advancing, predicting its emergence and spread remains challenging. “We still lack the technology to foresee misinformation and act proactively,” he explains. 

Harith’s team has secured a research grant to explore AI’s potential in predicting and tracking misinformation. By analysing past patterns, they aim to create tools for easier monitoring of similar false claims, and how they are or could propagate geographically. 

In the article, Harith highlighted the impact of social media platforms scaling back fact-checking efforts and stressed the need for advanced technologies that enable people to verify information directly and easily and receive real-time fact-checks where misinformation spreads.

Related links: Managing misinformation in food and drink