UTA project will bust claims of candidates

University of Texas at Arlington associate professor Chengkai Li is using a device to check claims in political debates, getting closer to automated fact-checking.

His project, ClaimBuster, has the goal of “helping journalists fact-check statements made by politicians in real time using a machine-learning tool.”

The project currently can only flag possibly erroneous claims that need a second look. But the potential of having a full-fledged, automated ClaimBuster for checking election rhetoric is intriguing.

Powerhouse foundations agree. Li has gotten partial backing from National Science Foundation grants and, most recently, a $35,000 grant from the Knight Prototype Fund, one of 20 such grants in the nation for 2015.

ClaimBuster in a demo mode has examined claims in recent debates, flagging doubtful information.

Anyone who has watched those debates knows that can be very useful.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 5:16 PM with the headline "UTA project will bust claims of candidates."