Google teams up with news publishers and fact-checkers in India elections to combat deepfakes

New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) – Google has announced its support for the ‘Shakti, India Election Fact-Checking Collective’ ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The initiative aims to combat the spread of deepfakes by connecting fact-checkers and Indian language publishers on a collaborative platform.

The project will focus on sharing fact checks, research resources, and alerts on elections-related viral misinformation and deepfakes. Fact-checks in multiple Indian languages and formats, including videos, will be shared and amplified via partnering news publishers to reach a wider audience.

Driven by DataLEADS, in collaboration with the Misinformation Combat Alliance and other fact-checkers, the ‘Shakti’ project will provide training in advanced fact-checking methodologies, deepfake detection, and the latest Google tools like the Fact Check Explorer. It aims to prioritize publishers producing original news in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, and Marathi.

Bharat Gupta, President of Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA), emphasized the importance of empowering people with trustworthy information in the digital age. Google has supported the training of over 65,000 journalists globally since 2018, equipping them with digital tools and skills to combat misinformation while telling engaging stories.