Synthetic Disinformation Attacks on Automated Fact Verification Systems

Automated fact-checking is a needed technology to curtail the spread of online misinformation. One current framework for such solutions proposes to verify claims by retrieving supporting or refuting evidence from related textual sources. However, the realistic use cases for fact-checkers will require verifying claims against evidence sources that could be affected by the same misinformation. Furthermore, the development of modern NLP tools that can produce coherent, fabricated content would allow malicious actors to systematically generate adversarial disinformation for fact-checkers.