True or False!
A platform that connects journalists to the truth…
and to each other.
Role
CO-U.I. DESIGNER
Team
JAIDEN BROWN · PARSONS: D&T
SIYU LIU · PARSONS: D&T
Tools
FIGMA
HOW CAN WE HELP JOURNALISTS COMBAT MISINFORMATION?
This was the question my team and I posed at the H/H hackathon.
Overview of the event
This event aimed to bring together designers, engineers, and journalists to solve problems related to journalism in a world in which A.I. is rapidly advancing.
I teamed up with another designer from Parsons and we got to work.
Thinking about initial interactions
The user’s first interaction was very important with our platform.
Asking questions or expanding knowledge are daunting tasks to some. “True or false!” welcomes individuals to ask questions and get information with as little pressure as possible. We wanted the app to feel friendly and inviting. This was achievable through a minimalistic approach in designing the first page the user will see.
“ToF!“ does not require login/sign-in information to access chat features.
We consulted with real journalists at the event and found that if we were to give them access to the chatbot as anonymous users, they would have more peace of mind in asking questions about sensitive topics. Topics they may not feel comfortable associating themselves with at the current moment.
“I would not want to share my information right away. I think I want to at least get used to the bot’s persona first… maybe find out how it is trained?”
“I get nervous when I ask questions… I want to use the platform just for myself and stay anonymous forever.”
“There is a social network aspect to the platform, right? I would create my account just to connect with other journalists. For the bot, I want to ask questions anonymously. ”
Chatting with ToF!
As well as providing answers, ToF! can provide useful links to scholarly articles and websites. It does so in a more “human” way by literally sending the link rather than a curated section or headline.
We designed ToF! to feel like chatting with a real person.
Little things like this aid in human-machine interaction.
Additionally, we designed a feature in which the user can report misinformation straight from the chat window. ToF! asks if the user would like to make a report in an independent message.
ToF! connects you with journalists through the information you look for
If ToF! is an A.I. that can comb the internet for relevant, public, and trustworthy information on a topic, then why not let it compare the author’s information to that of verified journalists on the platform to find a possible match?
Creating ToF! with this question in mind helped us design this feature to be as seamless as possible.
Catching and reporting
We also designed features for image verification.
Tof! can explain why an image may be fake and/or A.I. generated and offer the user the option to report it.
Reporting helps ToF!, journalists, and other users catch misinformation before it spreads.
Verification
Today, across platforms, verification is another form of authenticity. When we are unable to confirm something fully for ourselves, we look to those people and platforms with verified credentials to guide us in the right direction.
My team and I decided that ToF! would be the perfect platform to design such a feature for.
A link that has become accessible through ToF! can be verified by a verified journalist on the platform.
This means that users will know a real journalist has read through the media and confirmed its validity to the best of their ability.
Their account is then viewable by tapping the verification badge.
Verifying yourself
Once your work experience and education are submitted, a team at ToF! can perform the necessary checks to ensure validity.
Creating the logo
As we began brainstorming ideas, we knew we wanted to convey the general idea of the app through its logo.
We landed on a simple design that highlights the act of communication. Specifically, where one side comes forth with an idea or claim and the other returns a response based on the validity of that idea or claim.
Selecting the colours
We played around with a few different colour combinations through a generator to find out what kind of palette best suited our needs.
After mixing and matching different options, we landed on a cool, slightly muted palette of a deep blue/violet fading into a cream/snowy colour.
This gave our product an inviting, calm and professional look which fit our target audience.
As we designed ToF!, truth, transparency, and ease of access stood at the forefront of our design principles.
True or False! was created with the information seeker in mind.
Thanks for learning about ToF!
Jaiden & Siyu