Can Perplexity AI Assist With Fact-Checking on WhatsApp?

Dominic Anderson September 24, 2025

Key Takeaways

Perplexity AI has a WhatsApp chat that can be used for many chatbot functions, including fact-checking.
It’s very good for supplying sources and checking data in real-time.
That said, it’s still prone to hallucination, non-critical thinking, citing bad sources, and an inability to discern deepfakes.

Starting all the way back in 2022, the AI search engine Perplexity has made a name for itself as a search engine with a machine learning edge. Being able to ask questions and receive links, citations, and specific responses (in all major LLM models, no less) makes it an invaluable tool for research and fact-checking.

But let’s look at the tool’s functionality on WhatsApp and whether or not you can use it to quickly and reliably fact-check information. The answer isn’t a simple yes or no, so join us as we dig deeper.

Perplexity Comes to WhatsApp

Just in case you didn’t know, you can add Perplexity AI to WhatsApp as a contact and chat, rather than an extension. The number to add is “+1 (833) 436-3285” and you can start chatting with it right away. Input works either by chat or voice note, and you can ask Perplexity to do most things you would with your regular AI chatbot, including generating images.

There are limits, however, and document uploads (including PDFs) aren’t currently supported.

Perplexity will deliver responses tailored to your question and location, trying to supply you with the most relevant information possible. But how does it do with fact-checking?

Can Perplexity AI Assist With Fact-Checking on WhatsApp?

AI has never been able to fully shake its reputation for hallucinating, that is, making up facts, or fudging details to provide an answer. You’ve probably run across the disclaimer (even from chatbots themselves) reminding you to verify all important information. So, in this environment, how would using an AI to fact-check things work, and would it work well?

Asking the Experts, in Real Time

Perplexity AI makes use of real-time and regularly updated data gathering (overtrained data sets from years back) to offer the best responses possible. What’s more, Perplexity usually goes for sources from trusted organizations in certain fields. For instance, if you’re researching health claims, you’ll get sources from the World Health Organization (WHO), for example, or the Reuters news service for current affairs.

That said, for niche or regional topics, Perplexity can turn to smaller (and potentially more unreliable) sources for answers. It’s crucial to check where the information is coming from, regardless of the messenger.

No Deep Dives

Because Perplexity on WhatsApp is limited by its medium (as well as the lack of account logins), the answers you receive will be shorter than the app or web-based tool. If you’re looking for quick fact-checking answers, this works, but further deep dives are harder and require you to ask specific questions over a long period. Deep Research Mode, too, is sadly unavailable.

Be Direct

Because Perplexity is still a machine learning tool, it benefits from specific instructions. When fact-checking, be sure to make your request in no uncertain terms (“Fact check this claim,” “Is this true?”, etc.) and don’t forget to ask it to cite credible examples.

Trouble With Deepfakes

Being an AI, Perplexity struggles with critical discernment and detection of fake news and images. Deepfakes (videos and images) are a particular sticking point, and are usually only debunked by Perplexity if another online source has done so first.

It’s Still AI

Circling back to the beginning of this section, it’s always important to remember that Perplexity is an AI tool and still prone to hallucinations. Though this problem has been mitigated across the board in recent years, there’s still a chance that facts might be wrong or information misremembered.

A Tool, Not “The” Tool

Perplexity AI on WhatsApp is a good starting point for fact-checking, but you shouldn’t stop there. Follow the sources it cites to further investigate or check on your own trusted sources to back up a claim. Perplexity is a useful tool, but not a magic bullet.