Quint bags contract to check Covid-19 vax misinformation

New Delhi: Quint Digital Media on Wednesday said it has been awarded a contract by tech giant Google to help fact-check misinformation about the Covid-19 immunization process in the country.

Quint Digital, however, did not share the value of the contract. "The company has been awarded a contract by Google Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd to support journalistic efforts to fact-check misinformation about the Covid-19 immunization process in India," Quint Digital said in a regulatory filing. Google in its blog said this initiative (contract), is part of the $3 million Open Fund launched by Google News Initiative in January.

"The rapid nature of the Covid-19 vaccine development process and the great anxiety caused by the pandemic have made the topic of vaccination particularly susceptible to misinformation. "Journalists can play a fundamental role supporting an evidence-based discourse by listening to their audiences' concerns and providing corrective information about misconceptions that circulate online and offline.

To support this work, the Google News Initiative launched a $3 million Open Fund in January," Google said. "Today, we are announcing the 11 projects that were selected through an extensive review process that included a 17-person project team and an expert jury reviewing the highest-scoring applicants," it added.