WhatsApp Fact-Checking Bot with Perplexity AI and Twilio

Description

✅💬Build Your Own WhatsApp Fact-Checking Bot with AI

Tired of misinformation spreading on WhatsApp? 🤨 This workflow transforms your n8n instance into a powerful, automated fact-checking bot\! Send any news, claim, or question to a designated WhatsApp number, and this bot will use AI to research it, provide a verdict, and send back a summary with direct source links.

Fight fake news with the power of automation and AI\! 🚀

How it works ⚙️

This workflow uses a simple but powerful three-step process:

📬 WhatsApp Gateway (Webhook node): This is the front door. The workflow starts when the Webhook node receives an incoming message from a user via a Twilio WhatsApp number.
🕵️ The Digital Detective (Perplexity node): The user's message is sent to the Perplexity node. Here, a powerful AI model, instructed by a custom system prompt, analyzes the claim, scours the web for reliable information, and generates a verdict (e.g., ✅ Likely True, ❌ Likely False).
📲 WhatsApp Reply (Twilio node): The final, formatted response, complete with the verdict, a simple summary, and source citations, is sent back to the original user via the Twilio node.

Setup Guide 🛠️

Follow these steps carefully to get your fact-checking bot up and running.

Prerequisites

A Twilio Account with an active phone number or access to the WhatsApp Sandbox.
A Perplexity AI Account to get an API key.

1\. Configure Credentials

You'll need to add API keys for both Perplexity and Twilio to your n8n instance.

Perplexity AI:
Go to your Perplexity AI API Settings.
Generate and copy your API Key.
In n8n, go to Credentials \& New, search for "Perplexity," and add your key.
Twilio:
Go to your Twilio Console Dashboard.
Find and copy your Account SID and Auth Token.
In n8n, go to Credentials \& New, search for "Twilio," and add your credentials.

2\. Set Up the Webhook and Tunnel

To allow Twilio's cloud service to communicate with your n8n instance, you need a public URL. The n8n tunnel is perfect for this.

Start the n8n Tunnel: If you are running n8n locally, you'll need to expose it to the web. Open your terminal and run:
n8n start --tunnel
Copy Your Webhook URL:
Once the tunnel is active, open your n8n workflow.
In the Receive Whatsapp Messages (Webhook) node, you will see two URLs: Test and Production.
Copy the Test/Production URL. This is the public URL that Twilio will use.

3\. Configure Your Twilio WhatsApp Sandbox

Go to the Twilio Console and navigate to Messaging \& Try it out \& Send a WhatsApp message.
Select the Sandbox Settings tab.
In the section "WHEN A MESSAGE COMES IN," paste your n8n Production Webhook URL.
Make sure the method is set to HTTP POST.
Click Save.

How to Use Your Bot 🚀

Activate the Sandbox: To start, you (and any other users) must send a WhatsApp message with the join code (e.g., join given-word) to your Twilio Sandbox number. Twilio provides this phrase on the same Sandbox page.
Fact-Check Away\! Once joined, simply send any claim or question to the Twilio number. For example: Did Elon Musk discover a new planet?
Within moments, the workflow will trigger, and you'll receive a formatted reply with the verdict and sources right in your chat\!

Further Reading & Resources 🔗

n8n Tunnel Documentation
Twilio for WhatsApp Quickstart
Perplexity AI API Documentation