Social media has become an essential part of our life.  We find or share a lot of information out there on a daily basis, which is sometimes even false or misleading.  This misinformation also corrupts news media sources, leading to inaccurate reporting.

It is for this very reason and, to counter the spread of misinformation more effectively, Vishvas News, the fact-checking and media literacy training division of Jagran New Media (JNM), conducted a year-long training programme. The programme, for 20 fellows from 10 major Indian news organisations, provided participants with the knowledge and skills required for fact-checking and news verification.

Through the fellowship programme, we successfully trained 20 journalists from the media fraternity, including The Indian Express, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Asianet news, Manorama Online, Lokmat, Deccan Herald, Press Trust of India, Prajavani, and Mathrubhumi.

None of these news organisations and publishers are accredited with or certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). Nonetheless, they are determined to enhance their in-house expertise and capacity for fact-checking, particularly with regard to tools, techniques, and methodologies that would complement their existing journalism.

The programme, supported by the IAMAI and Meta, ran from December 2021 and culminated with a day-long conference at the Meta office on November 30, 2022.

The training fellowship

From 10 shortlisted leading media organisations, two candidates each were chosen to participate and train under international experts and trainers from Vishvas News. It all began with a five-day intensive workshop.

We used a number of learning modules for this training, followed by daily sessions for one year. The modules were tailored, keeping each participant in mind. We discussed more than 50 fact-checking tools and taught participants how to use them so they could become professional fact-checkers.

The tools were broadly classified into five major categories: image verification, photo verification, geo-location, social media monitoring, and other essential tools. To make the programme engaging, we conducted exercises on apps like Mentimeter and Kahoot.

“The year-long course conducted by Vishvas News has been very useful for my understanding of fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and how we should take efforts to fight this menace using various tools,” said Venkatesh Kannaiah from Indian Express. “Vishvas News trainers communicated all the modules of the course very effectively. They explained various techniques and took us through various examples and case studies on identifying fake news.”

“The fellowship was conducted at an opportune time when fake news became the real menace to the society where a large segment of the population is getting the news from social media,” said The Hindu’s Anirudh Parthasarthy. “The most important thing I learnt through this course is how different fact-checking on social media is from fact-checking on traditional media.”

Moreshwar Yeram Lokmat said the examples, tools, and techniques helped identify various examples of factual versus fake information. “I can definitely say that these sessions gave us a third vision in dealing with fake news and improved our skills of writing fact checks.”

At Vishvas News, we are excited about assisting participating media houses in upscaling their operations by imparting knowledge, information, tools, and strategies to identify, verify, and understand the perils of misinformation so they can ensure more robust newsroom planning.

Collaboration: the way forward

Even though the fellowship programme is over, I believe this is only an initiation into expanding India’s fact-checking ecosystem, albeit a very significant one. Each of the participating organisations is a name to reckon with in the world of news. We plan to collaborate with fellow organisations to break the chain of disinformation.

The fellows have started training their colleagues and publishing fact-checks. Some of them have already set up dedicated fact-checking desks whereas others are planning to do so in the coming days. Some of these newsrooms will apply for international certifications in 2023. Vishvas News also plans to collaborate with fellow organisations and conduct a massive media literacy campaign around the state elections in 2023 and the general election of 2024.

Meanwhile, at Vishvas News, we have had an eventful year not just as a leading fact-checking newsroom but as a training academy. We have reached out to millions of citizens through our flagship media literacy programme, Sach-ke-Sathi. Our trainers have conducted sessions for senior and mid-level military officers, central police organisations, journalists, bureaucrats, and decision-makers in different walks of life, in multiple states and languages.

I believe that, through the fellowship programme, our new partners have learned and promised to identify, cross-check, and debunk falsehoods circulating in the communities they serve. This programme is a great way to make a difference in society. It can also bring about change in the way journalism is perceived by these communities and in these times of social media.

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