Google to train 8000 journalists to curb fake news

Technology giant Google is planning to train around 8000 journalists in India. The company in a statement said, “This training network aims to support journalists from across India in their fight against misinformation, providing in-depth and hands-on verification training to 8000 journalists across English and six other Indian languages over the next one year. The training will equip them with best-in-class skills required to debunk fake news.”

The Network will select 200 journalists from cities across India, who will hone their skills in verification and training during 5-day train-the-trainer boot camps. They will be trained in-person by global verification experts and top Indian fact-checkers, including First Draft, Storyful, AltNews, BoomLive, Factchecker.in and DataLeads.

 The network of certified trainers will train more journalists in and around their region at 2-day, 1-day and half-day workshops organised by the Network. Training workshops will be conducted in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada in cities across India.

“When journalists and communities work together, armed with the online tools to verify information, they can build a bulwark of trusted media to fight the tide of misinformation,’ said, Irene Jay Liu, News Lab Lead, APAC.