“Verifying information that is easily and widely circulated on social media is absolutely vital in the age where misinformation is easy to disseminate. It is an easy process and Google has created a number of ways through which false information can be fact-checked,” said Google News Initiatives certified trainer fact-checking specialist, and Assistant Professor from Jammu Central University, Archana Kumari.
She was addressing over 120 participants of the online conference organized by the department of Journalism at SDM College Ujire, titled ‘National Workshop on Fact Checking’. “Fake news is an oxymoron. News can never be fake, and anything that is fake is just misinformation circulated with some malicious intent. Every journalist must be fundamentally aware of the ways of fact-checking and implement them on a regular basis to ensure he/she adheres to the ethical framework of Journalism”, she added.
In the workshop, she elaborated on the types of misinformation circulated on the internet and the commonly recognized intents behind them. She also introduced and elaborated a number of Google News Initiatives tools that can be used to decode the authenticity of a piece of information found on the internet. The resource person also answered questions from participants regarding the laws, necessities and technical elements related to fact-checking.
Prof. Satheeshchanda, the Principal of SDM College Ujire, Dr. Bhaskar Hegde, the HOD of Department of Journalism and all faculty and students of SDM Journalism were present at the workshop. Participants from around the country took part in the workshop.