News Fact-Checker MCP Server
A modern Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for fact-checking news headlines using AI analysis and web search.
Features
- 🔍 Fact-Check Headlines: Verify news claims using Google Gemini AI and web search
- 📈 Trending Topics: Get current trending news from RSS feeds
- 🤖 AI-Powered Analysis: Uses Google Gemini 2.0 Flash for intelligent fact-checking
- 🌐 Multi-Source Verification: Searches multiple sources for comprehensive analysis
- ⚡ Modern MCP: Built with latest MCP conventions using
@mcp.tooldecorators
Quick Start
Prerequisites
- Python 3.11 or higher
- Google Gemini API key
Installation
- Clone the repository:
git clone <repository-url>
cd FactChecker
- Install dependencies:
pip install -r requirements.txt
- Set up your API key:
export GEMINI_API_KEY="your_gemini_api_key_here"
- Run the server:
python -m factchck.news_factcheck
Usage
Fact-Check a Headline
# Example MCP tool call
{
"tool": "fact_check_headline",
"arguments": {
"headline": "NASA announces discovery of water on Mars"
}
}
Get Trending Topics
# Example MCP tool call
{
"tool": "get_trending_topics",
"arguments": {
"location": "international" # or "local", "india"
}
}
Available Tools
fact_check_headline
Verifies news headlines using AI analysis and web search.
Parameters:
headline(string): The news headline to fact-check
Returns:
- Verdict (TRUE/FALSE/PARTIALLY_TRUE/UNVERIFIED/MISLEADING)
- Confidence score
- Truthfulness percentage
- Supporting and contradicting evidence
- Recommendations
get_trending_topics
Retrieves current trending news topics.
Parameters:
location(string, optional): "international", "local", or "india" (default: "international")
Returns:
- List of trending topics with titles, sources, and URLs
Configuration
Environment Variables
GEMINI_API_KEY: Required Google Gemini API keyNEWS_API_KEY: Optional NewsAPI key for enhanced searchSEARCH_API_KEY: Optional additional search API key
API Keys
- Google Gemini: Get your API key from Google AI Studio
- NewsAPI (optional): Get from NewsAPI
- Search API (optional): Additional search service API key
Development
Project Structure
FactChecker/
├── src/
│ └── factchck/
│ └── news_factcheck.py # Main MCP server
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies
├── pyproject.toml # Project configuration
└── README.md # This file
Building
# Install in development mode
pip install -e .
# Run tests (if available)
python -m pytest
MCP Integration
This server is compatible with:
- Claude Desktop
- MCP CLI
- Any MCP-compatible client
Server Configuration
{
"mcpServers": {
"news-factcheck": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "factchck.news_factcheck"],
"env": {
"GEMINI_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
Error Handling
The server includes comprehensive error handling for:
- Missing API keys
- Network connectivity issues
- Invalid input validation
- Service unavailability
Limitations
- Requires internet connection for web search
- Depends on Google Gemini API availability
- RSS feed parsing is simplified (consider using proper XML parser for production)
- Rate limits may apply to API services
Contributing
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Make your changes
- Add tests if applicable
- Submit a pull request
License
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.
Version History
- v3.0.0: Modernized with latest MCP conventions, simplified codebase
- v2.1.0: Previous version with complex multi-source search
- v0.1.0: Initial release
Support
For issues and questions:
- Check the error logs
- Verify API key configuration
- Ensure network connectivity
- Open an issue on GitHub