# RAMA: Retrieval-Augmented Multi-Agent Framework for Misinformation Detection in Multimodal Fact-Checking

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.09174 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.09174/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Agentic RAG, agents and memory, one of 15 directions in Retrieval-augmented generation.
- Builds on 24 of its 70 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 12 Jul 2025.

## Placed in

- Retrieval-augmented generation / [Agentic RAG, agents and memory](https://mlsanity.com/rag/agentic-rag-agents-and-memory/)
- LLM agents and tool use / [Web, search, and research agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/web-search-and-research-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [Learning Transferable Visual Models From Natural Language Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.00020/) (2021)
- [InternVL3: Exploring Advanced Training and Test-Time Recipes for Open-Source Multimodal Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.10479/) (2025)
- [Fact or Fiction: Verifying Scientific Claims](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.14974/) (2020)
- [A Survey on Automated Fact-Checking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.11896/) (2021)
- [DeepResearcher: Scaling Deep Research via Reinforcement Learning in Real-world Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.03160/) (2025)
- [MiniCheck: Efficient Fact-Checking of LLMs on Grounding Documents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.10774/) (2024)
- [Factuality Challenges in the Era of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.05189/) (2023)
- [NewsCLIPpings: Automatic Generation of Out-of-Context Multimodal Media](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.05893/) (2021)
- [End-to-End Multimodal Fact-Checking and Explanation Generation: A Challenging Dataset and Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.12487/) (2022)
- [COVID-Fact: Fact Extraction and Verification of Real-World Claims on COVID-19 Pandemic](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.03794/) (2021)
- [Multimodal Fake News Detection via CLIP-Guided Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.14304/) (2022)
- [DELL: Generating Reactions and Explanations for LLM-Based Misinformation Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.10426/) (2024)
- [Show Me the Work: Fact-Checkers' Requirements for Explainable Automated Fact-Checking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.09083/) (2025)
- [The Surprising Performance of Simple Baselines for Misinformation Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.06952/) (2021)
- [FACT-GPT: Fact-Checking Augmentation via Claim Matching with LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.05904/) (2024)
- [Support or Refute: Analyzing the Stance of Evidence to Detect Out-of-Context Mis- and Disinformation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01766/) (2023)
- [BRENDA: Browser Extension for Fake News Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.13270/) (2020)
- [Automated Claim Matching with Large Language Models: Empowering Fact-Checkers in the Fight Against Misinformation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.09223/) (2023)
- [Multi-modal Misinformation Detection: Approaches, Challenges and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.13883/) (2022)
- [Cheap-fake Detection with LLM using Prompt Engineering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.02776/) (2023)
- [MFC-Bench: Benchmarking Multimodal Fact-Checking with Large Vision-Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.11288/) (2024)
- [Similarity over Factuality: Are we making progress on multimodal out-of-context misinformation detection?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.13488/) (2024)
- [VRoC: Variational Autoencoder-aided Multi-task Rumor Classifier Based on Text](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.00816/) (2021)
- [RealFactBench: A Benchmark for Evaluating Large Language Models in Real-World Fact-Checking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12538/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [The Paradigm Shift: A Comprehensive Survey on Large Vision Language Models for Multimodal Fake News Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.15316/) (2026)
- [Careful Queries, Credible Results: Teaching RAG Models Advanced Web Search Tools with Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.07956/) (2025)
- [Fact or Fake? Assessing the Role of Deepfake Detectors in Multimodal Misinformation Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.01854/) (2026)
- [Large Language Models in Misinformation Ecosystems: Misuse, Defense, and Vulnerability](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.10402/) (2026)
- [RAEGNet: Relation-Aware Evidence Graph Network for Harm-Aware Multimodal Fake News Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.36902/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The rapid proliferation of multimodal misinformation presents significant challenges for automated fact-checking systems, especially when claims are ambiguous or lack sufficient context. We introduce RAMA, a novel retrieval-augmented multi-agent framework designed for verifying multimedia misinformation. RAMA incorporates three core innovations: (1) strategic query formulation that transforms multimodal claims into precise web search queries; (2) cross-verification evidence aggregation from diverse, authoritative sources; and (3) a multi-agent ensemble architecture that leverages the complementary strengths of multiple multimodal large language models and prompt variants. Extensive experiments demonstrate that RAMA achieves superior performance on benchmark datasets, particularly excelling in resolving ambiguous or improbable claims by grounding verification in retrieved factual evidence. Our findings underscore the necessity of integrating web-based evidence and multi-agent reasoning for trustworthy multimedia verification, paving the way for more reliable and scalable fact-checking solutions. RAMA will be publicly available at https://github.com/kalendsyang/RAMA.git.