For real meh?

Having fun hacking :)

Inspiration

Have you ever come across information online and wondered if they are fake? Well, we definitely have. With the proliferation of social media, fake news have became a common occurrence. We created "For Real Meh?" to bridge this gap by bringing fact-checking directly into the user's browsing experience. With just one right-click, users can verify claims without disrupting their workflow, empowering them to make informed decisions about the information they consume.

What it does

"For Real Meh?" is a Chrome extension that provides instant, AI-powered fact-checking directly within the browser. The extension seamlessly integrates into users' browsing experience through multiple interaction methods:

Core Features:

Context Menu Integration: Users can highlight any text on any webpage and right-click to access a "Fact-check" option
Side Panel Interface: A modern, dark-themed side panel displays comprehensive fact-checking results without navigating away from the current page
Structured Results: Each fact-check returns:
- Verdict: One of four categories (True, False, Misleading, or Unclear)
- Confidence Level: High, Medium, or Low
- Detailed Explanation: A concise 2-6 sentence explanation based on verified sources
- Cited Sources: 2-6 credible sources with titles, URLs, publishers, and publication dates
Visual Feedback: Color-coded verdict pills (green for true, red for false, yellow for misleading) provide instant visual cues
Source Transparency: All sources are clickable links, allowing users to verify information independently
Disclaimer System: Built-in warnings encourage users to perform their own research, especially for unclear or misleading verdicts

How we built it

Frontend (Chrome Extension - Manifest V3)

Technology Stack: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript

Backend (Node.js/Express Server)

Technology Stack: Node.js, Express.js, OpenAI Responses API

Challenges we ran into

We found it difficult to fine tune our AI model to give us the desired output. Additionally, we had to change our JSON schema multiple times to ensure it aligns with openAI's requirement.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that our product works! (and the minimalist frontend design)

What we learned

We learned that no matter the problem that we face, there is always a solution. We just have to find it.

What's next for For Real Meh?

We plan to further improve both the speed and accuracy of our AI-powered fact-checking system to deliver a faster user experience. This includes optimising our backend pipeline and refining how the model evaluates claims and selects reliable sources. We also aim to expand source coverage, improve confidence scoring, and enhance result explanations so users can better understand why a claim is true or false.