Verify It!

Verify It! is an interactive game where players spot misinformation under pressure, making quick decisions to build media literacy, critical thinking, and source-evaluation skills.

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Inspiration

We were inspired by the overwhelming spread of misinformation online and wanted to create a way for people to learn media literacy by doing, rather than just reading tips or guidelines. We envisioned a game that turns critical thinking into an interactive, engaging experience.

What it does

Verify It! is a 5-level browser game where players classify AI-generated content (news headlines, social posts, statistics, and viral images) as real, fake, or manipulated before the MISINFO virus corrupts the archive. The game features:

  • AI-generated questions each round using DigitalOcean Gradient AI
  • Four content formats: headlines, social posts, statistics, viral image reports
  • Increasing difficulty across levels
  • Countdown timer for real-time decision-making
  • Streak bonus system and hints
  • Integrity bar that shows archive corruption
  • Fallback static questions if the API is unavailable

How we built it

We used a Node.js + Express backend to handle requests, including calling the Gradient AI inference API (llama3.3-70b-instruct) to generate questions dynamically. The frontend is built with vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, communicating with the backend through an /generate endpoint.

Each question round, the backend sends a structured prompt to Gradient AI specifying:

  • Question type: real, fake, or manipulated
  • Content format: headline, social post, statistic, image report
  • Hint for verification
  • Explanation after the answer The API key is securely stored in a .env file, never exposed to the frontend.

Challenges we ran into

  • Ensuring AI-generated content remained coherent and plausible
  • Handling API downtime, which required implementing fallback static questions
  • Designing an engaging UI that communicates integrity and streaks without overwhelming players

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Seamless integration of AI-generated content in a real-time game environment
  • Dynamic difficulty scaling across five levels
  • Fun, educational gameplay that turns media literacy into an experience

What we learned

  • How to design interactive educational experiences that teach complex skills
  • Working with AI content generation APIs in a secure and user-friendly way
  • The importance of fallback mechanisms for critical features

What's next for Verify It!

  • Add more question formats and types of misinformation
  • Implement leaderboards and user progress tracking
  • Explore mobile-friendly versions to reach a broader audience
  • Integrate multiplayer or collaborative gameplay for social learning

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