Google invests $6.5 million to combat misinformation related to coronavirus

The tech giant Google has announced that it will provide 6.5 million US dollars in funding to the organizations fighting against the misinformation with “an immediate focus on the coronavirus.”

Alexios Mantzarlis—the News and Information Credibility Lead at Google News Lab—said that the Google News Initiative is increasing its support for nonprofit First Draft, which provides a resource hub, training, and crisis simulations for the journalists covering news during the times of coronavirus crisis.

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He further said that the company also wants to do more to the surface fact-checks that address the potentially harmful health misinformation more prominently to our users.

“We’re experimenting with how to best include a dedicated fact-check section in the COVID-19 Google News experience,” he said.

It is worth mentioning that the social media giant Facebook has also supported the fact-checking operations with different media companies including AFP, Reuters, and the Associated Press. According to the details, after the support, the content rated false is downgraded in the news feeds so that fewer people see it.