Zhigan Zhang
2026
Deconstruct, Diagnose, and Deliberate: A Protocol-Adaptive Role-Specific Multi-Agent Framework for Fake News Detection
Zhigan Zhang | Jie Sui
Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: ACL 2026
Zhigan Zhang | Jie Sui
Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: ACL 2026
The rapid spread of fake news on digital platforms presents significant societal challenges, demanding detection methods capable of addressing intricate manipulation strategies. Existing methods predominantly rely on monolithic verification approaches, which fail to decompose the complex blend of factual inaccuracies, logical fallacies, and propaganda techniques in modern misinformation. To address this gap, we propose PARD, a Protocol-Adaptive Role-Specific multi-agent framework that decomposes verification into factual, logical, and contextual dimensions. PARD dynamically selects the optimal interaction protocol from a library that includes Round-Robin Discussion, Point-Counterpoint Dialogue, and Cross-Examination to tailor the reasoning process for more effective detection. We evaluate PARD with LIAR-RAW+, an extended version of the LIAR-RAW dataset enriched with fine-grained factual, logical, and contextual annotations. Experimental results demonstrate that PARD consistently outperforms baseline methods in both predictive accuracy and explanatory quality, supported by its efficient dynamic governance mechanism