mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

MARCH: Multi-Agent Reinforced Self-Check for LLM Hallucination

arXiv 2603.24579 ↗First posted 25 Mar 2026cs.CLcited by 5

On the map: Retrieval-augmented generation → Hallucination detection in RAG

also in 1 more
Abstract (arXiv)

Hallucination remains a critical bottleneck for large language models (LLMs), undermining their reliability in real-world applications, especially in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems. While existing hallucination detection methods employ LLM-as-a-judge to verify LLM outputs against retrieved evidence, they suffer from inherent confirmation bias, where the verifier inadvertently reproduces the errors of the original generation. To address this, we introduce Multi-Agent Reinforced Self-Check for Hallucination (MARCH), a framework that enforces rigorous factual alignment by leveraging deliberate information asymmetry. MARCH orchestrates a collaborative pipeline of three specialized agents: a Solver, a Proposer, and a Checker. The Solver generates an initial RAG response, which the Proposer decomposes into claim-level verifiable atomic propositions. Crucially, the Checker validates these propositions against retrieved evidence in isolation, deprived of the Solver's original output. This well-crafted information asymmetry scheme breaks the cycle of self-confirmation bias. By training this pipeline with multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL), we enable the agents to co-evolve and optimize factual adherence. Extensive experiments across hallucination benchmarks demonstrate that MARCH substantially reduces hallucination rates. Notably, an 8B-parameter LLM equipped with MARCH achieves performance competitive with powerful closed-source models. MARCH paves a scalable path for factual self-improvement of LLMs through co-evolution. The code is at https://github.com/Qwen-Applications/MARCH.

Key facts. Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Hallucination detection in RAG, one of 15 directions in Retrieval-augmented generation. Builds on 67 of its 81 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 25 Mar 2026.

Builds on

67 of 81 references.

Closest ancestors · 2

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2025Benchmarking LLM Faithfulness in RAG with Evolving Leaderboards7 May
  2. 2023RAGTruth: A Hallucination Corpus for Developing Trustworthy Retrieval-Augmented Language Models31 Dec

Other references · 65

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Citing papers per year: 2026: 5.

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  1. 2024Towards Detecting LLMs Hallucination via Markov Chain-based Multi-agent Debate Framework
  2. 2026Cascading Hallucination in Agentic RAG: The CHARM Framework for Detection and Mitigation
  3. 2026Hallucination Cascade: Analyzing Error Propagation in Multi-Agent LLM Systems
  4. 2026AgentHallu: Benchmarking Automated Hallucination Attribution of LLM-based Agents
  5. 2026Collective Hallucination in Multi-Agent LLMs:Modeling and Defense
  6. 2026Zero-source LLM Hallucination Detection with Human-like Criteria Probing
  7. 2026Token-Guard: Towards Token-Level Hallucination Control via Self-Checking Decoding
  8. 2026Council Mode: A Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Consensus Framework for Reducing LLM Hallucination and Bias