‘Google in talks with fact-checking org in India’

NEW DELHI:  Sanjay Gupta, Google India country manager and vice-president, on Thursday said the technology giant is in talks with a fact-checking organisation in India to do away with misinformation on its platforms. 

However, Gupta didn’t name the orgnaisation. The company said it is using technology and planning to tie up with journalists in the country to curb fake news in its platforms such as Youtube and others.  “I think, we need to ensure that the information in India, which is fed to consumers, is correct and fact-checked… it is important to find the right people in the industry who can use their expertise,” said Gupta.

Google, in partnership with Kantar, data analytics and brand consulting firm, on Thursday announced findings of India’s digital news ecosystem that noted 80% face misinformation on a regular basis. Bengali and Marathi users are most affected by the misinformation in the country. 

On a recent norm of the government that mandates online platforms removing contents if it was flagged as fake by the government notified fact-checkers, Gupta said law of the land should be followed.  “There is no philosophical view more than to follow the laws of the land and solve for consumers. Our vision is simple, organise information and make it helpful and safe for consumers,” added Gupta. 

Recently, the government came up with a law that mandates internet firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter to remove content if it was flagged as faked by government notified fact-checkers. If the companies failed to do so, it will lose the safe harbour clause that protects intermediaries from legal action on them for any objectionable content posted online by their users. 

Meanwhile, the study noted that an Indian language consumer uses as many as 5.05 platforms on average to access news online with YouTube (93%), social media (88%) and chat apps (82%) emerging as popular pathways. It said nearly 15% people are willing to pay for news and a majority prefer monthly or quarterly payments for their subscriptions. The joint study noted small and long format story-telling will coexist in the form of video, text, summaries or short format stories.