WIZO Rishon Lezion youth village teens create fact-checking bot

A group of immigrant high school students at WIZO Nachlat Yehuda Youth Village in Rishon Lezion has developed a sophisticated tool to combat the spread of online misinformation. The students, participants in the Na’ale program, created a Telegram bot named CriticalMind, which aims to help users identify false or manipulative content.

The CriticalMind bot analyzes messages, images, and links, providing users with an assessment of whether the material appears verified, manipulative, or false. It also identifies original sources and explains potential techniques used to distort information. This innovative project was the winning entry from a public diplomacy hackathon held at the youth village.

The hackathon marked the conclusion of “The Leader Within You,” a year-long initiative by the Russian-language HASBARA Association. The program equipped young immigrants from former Soviet Union countries with practical skills to navigate online misinformation, understand Israel's history and current challenges, and communicate effectively with international audiences.

Students engaged in various activities throughout the year, including meeting with journalists and public diplomacy experts, learning about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, antisemitism, and information warfare. They also honed their fact-checking and critical thinking abilities. The hackathon challenged participants to develop projects addressing disinformation, antisemitism, identity, and the delegitimization of Israel, with CriticalMind emerging as the standout project.

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Since the beginning of the war, many of our students have encountered hostile conversations about Israel, including from friends and acquaintances in their countries of origin.