International Fact-Checking Network Receives $13.2M Grant From Google, YouTube

Google and YouTube Tuesday revealed a $13.2 million grant to the International Fact-Checking Network at the nonprofit Poynter Institute, with the funds earmarked for a new Global Fact Check Fund to support the IFCN’s network of 135 fact-checking organizations from 65 countries covering over 80 languages. YouTube director of news and civic partnerships Brandon Feldman and Google managing director of news ecosystem partnerships Olivia Ma explained in a blog post Tuesday, “Helping people to identify misinformation is a global challenge. The Global Fact Check Fund will help fact-checkers to scale existing operations or launch new ones that elevate information, uplift credible sources and reduce the harm of mis- and disinformation around the globe. Fact-checking organizations can use the funding to incorporate new technologies, create or expand digital footprints, optimize verification tools and increase their capacities to deepen audience engagement through innovative storytelling formats such as audio, video or podcasts. The Fund will open in early 2023.” Feldman and Ma also detailed how fact-checking and additional context are being deployed across Google’s and YouTube’s surfaces. Relevant fact-check articles are highlighted in results in Google Images, Google News and search to provide full context to readers. Fact-check panels appear at the top of search results on YouTube in six countries for queries related to specific claims, with plans to roll this feature out to additional markets. The original claim and the fact-checked assessment from independent organizations now appear in the Fact-Check section in Google News for desktop. Fact Check Explorer searches claims from among 150,000 fact checks from reputable publishers. Following a breaking news event, the Breaking News panel may appear in YouTube search results for relevant queries, featuring developing stories from news sources that follow Google News content policies. The About this result feature in Google search provides more context about a result before readers ever visit a web page via the three dots next to the result. When information is not yet broadly available, Google search will display a notice informing users that it can take time for a range of sources to publish information on a topic. Feldman and Ma concluded, “Google and YouTube remain dedicated to keep doing our part to help you find what you’re looking for and give you the context you need to make informed decisions about what you see online. And we’re committed to continuing to support the journalists and fact-checking organizations on the front lines of the fight against misinformation.”

Platforms

International Fact-Checking Network Receives $13.2M Grant From Google, YouTube

It will go toward a new Global Fact Check Fund

David Cohen

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

David Cohen