Google companions with Boom Live in India to fight against coronavirus misinformation
Google on Friday said it will provide USD 6.5 million (around Rs 49 crore) in funding to fact-checkers and non-profits fighting misinformation all over the world, including India, with concentrate on the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives.
In a blogpost, Google pointed out that health authorities have warned an overabundance of information makes it harder for people to acquire reliable guidance about the pandemic.
Helping the world make sense of this information takes a broad response, involving scientists, journalists, public figures, technology platforms and others, it added.
"We're providing USD 6.5 million in funding to fact-checkers and non-profits fighting misinformation around the world, with an immediate focus on coronavirus," it said.
Google said fact-checkers and health authorities need help identify topics that people are trying to find and where there might be a gap in the option of good information online.
"To greatly help, we're supporting Data Leads together with BOOM Reside in India and Africa Check in Nigeria to leverage data from Question Hub. This will be complemented by an attempt to teach 1,000 journalists across India and Nigeria to spot health misinformation," it added.
Google News Initiative (GNI) can be upgrading its support for First Draft that is providing an online resource hub, dedicated training and crisis simulations for reporters covering COVID-19 all over the globe.
The non-profit organisation can be using its intensive CrossCheck network to greatly help newsrooms respond quickly and address escalating content that is creating confusion and harm.
Another effort created by the company is to create more local Google Trends data available for journalists, health organisations and local authorities to greatly help them understand people's information needs all over the world.
