About the program

Ticket Contents The Deepfake Analysis Unit DAU is a trusted resource for raising public awareness on the issue of synthetic media commonly known as deepfakes Through a network of partnerships and a whatsapp tipline we aim to combat generative AI based misinformation We are structured to leverage the expertise of academics researchers startups tech platforms factcheckers and journalists to help the public discern the real from the fabricated One of the ways for citizens to engage with the DAU is by texting us on our whatsapp tipline The tipline can be used for submitting videos and audios and learn if they contain any sort of manipulation The tipline and our whatsapp channel is also a great avenue to learn more about deepfakes and other media manipulation techniques We would like to conduct a User Research of our tipline users to help understand their expectations from the tipline and how best to address them Key design research questions 1.What do citizens expect from a tipline like ours 2.Do they find the instructions in our chatbot easy to follow 3.Are they able to discover the various functionalities of the tipline and effectively use them 4.Do they understand the various responses we send out 5.Do they find themselves more knowledgeable about the various deception strategies used in media items after they started using our tipline 6.Do they find themselves better equipped to deal with instances of synthetic media manipulation 7.Our tipline currently works in 4 languages english hindi tamil and telugu What are the best practices around onboarding users Current State While a lot of thought has gone in ensuring that the tipline and its content is accessible to every one we have not done any user research of the tipline users themselves I inquired with some fact checkers on the team and even though they run tiplines like these for their readers no study of this sort has taken place to their best knowledge We are in the process of finding out any published research on fact checking tiplines on whatsapp Some known companies who have run such tiplines globally are meedan and turnio Desired State DAU aspires to be one stop destination to get information about synthetic media for citizens journalists and anyone concerned with the information ecosystem A lot of the features on the immediate roadmap relate to being able to send timely response to users for their queries That being said the nature of the work is such that a satisfactory investigation sometimes takes more than a few days We want to become a trusted resource and communicate our capabilities and timeline realistically to the users We want to keep the users engaged with our service without spamming them Goals MidPoint Milestone 1.Establish a strategy to recruit users for the study 2.Recruit users for the study 3.Work with the DAU to finalize user research survey and activities 4.Conduct User Research 5.Summarize findings 6.Provide actionable feedback on UX changes to make in the tipline The first three items must be completed by mid point check in Acceptance Criteria 1.TranscriptDocumentation of the user interviews 2.Analysis Report summarizing key findings and recommendations

Perks

These projects are open to college students and working professionals who are eager to dive into the world of UI UX, user behaviour and qualitative research to build impactful designs for solving population-scale problems. Selected contributors will work on challenging problem statements over a 3-month long period and receive a stipend of INR 70,000 over 3 months.

Who can apply?

Only those candidates can apply who:

1. are from Any,
2. and specialisation from Any,
3. are available for duration of 3 Months
4. have relevant skills and interests

Terms of Engagement

1. 35000 received on completion of midpoint milestone as decided with mentor 2. 35000 received on completion of final milestone as decided with mentor 3. Certificate of completion received on successful completion of internship

Number of openings

1