Feds creating database to track hate speech on Twitter

The federal government is creating what it calls a “Truthy” database, aimed at uncovering lies, political smears and other misinformation on Twitter.

Indiana University has received a $919,917 grant to develop the project so far, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

The money comes from the National Science Foundation to create a web-based service that can monitor “suspicious memes” and “false and misleading ideas,” with an emphasis on political posts, Watchdog.org reported.

Specifically, the grant states that “Truthy … [will] detect political smears, astroturfing, misinformation and other social pollution. The project stands to benefit both the research community and the public significantly.”

The data will be made available through an app.

It will “include information on meme propagation networks, statistical data and relevant user and content features,” the grant stated, the Washington Free Beacon reported.