Zedilson Almeida: Fact Checking Fake News
From navigating a news application on his phone to transforming how news is consumed. This is the story of Angolan entrepreneur Zedilson, who found himself in a thinking spot in 2014, having just returned from the United States. His reflections were on how people within the media landscape in Angola engage with news and the speed at which such news travels. For him, the truest value for any news application is the swiftness of its reporting and the ease of navigating stories – a thing she realized was missing in his country. Knowing the relevance and importance of news, she brainstormed ideas and was able to identify additional issues that were affecting the media landscape in Angola. She knew she had to do something about it.
Since 2014, so much has changed both in how news is developed and how it is consumed. Manifexto’s latest achievement is perhaps the most significant. In March 2021, they successfully launched an automated fact-checker, Nuxo, based on a machine-learning algorithm. For now, it is only working as a chatbot on Facebook, which allows any of its almost 7 billion users to ask Nuxo about the news. Any day, any time, Nuxo will always reply and analyze news in any language, and for free! How remarkable it is that more people have access to around-the-clock news in a manner that is most comfortable for them.
Manifexto is contributing to local communities in Angola by empowering them with information, transforming them into educated concerned citizens. On the other hand, we are also contributing by showing the next generation of entrepreneurs that whatever is their goal, they can achieve if they set their priorities straight.
As media around the world continues to be reshaped, Manifesto wants to constantly remain innovative in the media landscape, but more importantly, they want to continue developing Nuxo and strengthen its linguistics abilities. At a time where Artificial Intelligence is increasingly receiving attention, Manifexto is eager to use it as a service that can be personalized to serve any purpose that would benefit from its wonders.
Although operating with a lean business structure, they continue to find new ways to diversify their portfolio, chasing new opportunities and possibilities to put the people of Angola at the forefront of all that is happening within and outside their communities.
