Retrieval Augmented Verification for Zero-Shot Detection of Multimodal Disinformation

Abstract: The rise of disinformation on social media, especially through the strategic manipulation or repurposing of images, paired with provocative text, presents a complex challenge for traditional fact-checking methods. In this paper, we introduce a novel zero-shot approach to identify and interpret such multimodal disinformation, leveraging real-time evidence from credible sources. Our framework goes beyond simple true-or-false classifications by analyzing both the textual and visual components of social media claims in a structured, interpretable manner. By constructing a graph-based representation of entities and relationships within the claim, combined with pretrained visual features, our system automatically retrieves and matches external evidence to identify inconsistencies. Unlike traditional models dependent on labeled datasets, our method empowers users with transparency, illuminating exactly which aspects of the claim hold up to scrutiny and which do not. Our framework achieves competitive performance with state-of-the-art methods while offering enhanced explainability.