WhatsApp fact-checking bot with Perplexity AI and Twilio

✅💬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: 1. 📬 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. 2. 🕵️ 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). 3. 📲 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: 1. Go to your Perplexity AI API Settings. 2. Generate and copy your API Key. 3. In n8n, go to Credentials \& New, search for "Perplexity," and add your key. Twilio: 1. Go to your Twilio Console Dashboard. 2. Find and copy your Account SID and Auth Token. 3. 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. 1. Start the n8n Tunnel: If you are running n8n locally, you'll need to expose it to the web. Open your terminal and run: bash n8n start --tunnel 2. 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 1. Go to the Twilio Console and navigate to Messaging \& Try it out \& Send a WhatsApp message. 2. Select the Sandbox Settings tab. 3. In the section "WHEN A MESSAGE COMES IN," paste your n8n Production Webhook URL. 4. Make sure the method is set to HTTP POST. 5. Click Save. How to Use Your Bot 🚀 1. 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. 2. Fact-Check Away\! Once joined, simply send any claim or question to the Twilio number. For example: Did Elon Musk discover a new planet? 3. 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