Sarmed Malik
According to Google News Labs Fact-checking organizations that operate relatively with smaller budgets are seeing a surge in demand for their expertise to be utilized in fact-checking coronavirus information which is been used by several organizations to spread false information.
In order to combat this growing number of false facts, Google has decided to spend $6.5 million dollars into fact-checkers and non-profits. Its main purpose is to flag any information that they deem as being of fiction.
And Google isn’t slowing down, it has also decided to use its products and its meshwork to strengthen the battle against COVID-19 misinformation.
The Google News Initiative is increasing its support for nonprofit First Draft .which provides resource hub, training, and crisis simulations for journalists covering news during these harsh times
It is also renewing its core-backing of the International Fact-Checking Network to create new models for the database of facts published by the COVID-19 alliance.
Google is also committing for $50 million to the global COVID-19 response as well a $5 million in matching donations to the UN Foundation`s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO
If you donate $1 Google will match that and donate $2
Google and many of its rivals have been criticized for not doing enough in the past to elevate quantified information during a crisis. As of this many IT companies are throwing millions of dollars at journalism and small business in order to fact check COVID-19 information.
Facebook recently announced a $1 million investment to support fact-checkers.
The donations will come via the Google News Initiative, a $300 million efforted established in 2018 to help journalism thrive in the digital age and will support fact-checking around the globe.
Google is funding Data leads in partnership with BOOM live in India and Africa Check in Nigeria to leverage data and train more than 1000 journalists across India and Nigeria to spot misinformation.
Google is also injecting more than $250 million in advertising grants to help WHO and Government agencies offer information on to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Google will also spend $20 million in Google Cloud for academic institutions and research groups, Google`s Sister company Verily has ramped up drive-thru COVID-19 testing with 1000 volunteers as an effort to screen and test people with symptoms.
“As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to worsen around the world, it is taking a devastating toll on lives and communities,” said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Google will support JSK Journalism Fellowships at Standford University to create a global data resource for reports working on the COVID-19 epidemic.
The main goal for Google for doing this is to remain proactive throughout the COVID-19 epidemic to make sure users of access to accurate as well as safe information.
