Project Overview
Last Verified: 2026-02-17 | Owner: John
BasicFakta — Project Overview
What is BasicFakta?
BasicFakta (basicfakta.no) is a SaaS fact-checking tool that analyzes news articles and claims to detect misinformation. It uses AI-powered algorithms to generate "fact scores" indicating the likelihood that content is fake news.
Current Status
- Phase: Deployed (live at basicfakta.no)
- Type: Internal product / SaaS offering
- Backend: External hosted API (not in main repo)
- Frontend: Repository available
Features
- Fact Checking — Analyze news articles and claims
- Fact Scoring — 0-100 score (lower = more likely fake)
- URL Extraction — Extract and analyze URLs from articles
- Share Results — Share fact-check results
- Mobile Support — Responsive design
Tech Stack
- Frontend: Modern web framework
- Backend API: Hosted separately at basicfakta.no
- Algorithm: Proprietary fake news detection (not open source)
Recent Work
Audit & Fixes (2026-02)
13 audit items fixed and deployed (commit ce800c2):
Critical Fixes
- url-extractor.js created — Was missing, causing extraction failures
- XSS vulnerability — Input sanitization implemented
- Rate limit bypass — Fixed authentication bypass
- API key sanitization — Sensitive data protection
Medium Improvements
- Security headers — Added via vercel.json
- Email validation — Enhanced validation
- SEO meta tags — Improved search visibility
- WCAG accessibility — Screen reader support, keyboard navigation
- Mobile UX — Touch-friendly interface
- Share results — Social sharing functionality
- Loading states — Improved user feedback
Known Issues
Backend Separation
- Backend code not in repo — Hosted separately, not accessible for improvements
- Algorithm improvements blocked — Cannot improve detection accuracy without backend access
- Test failures — 23/65 tests fail because factScore > 30 for known fake news
- Resolution needed — Backend must be imported or accessed before further accuracy work
Key Documents
- Repository: GitHub (switched from SSH to HTTPS auth)
- Deployment: Vercel auto-deploy from main branch
- Audit Report: ~/system/reports/ (details TBD)