Google and PBS launch media literacy program to combat misinformation

In recent years, Google has tried to repair its reputation as a source of disinformation by launching several programs, most notably the Google News Initiative (GNI). Now the company has partnered with PBS Student Report Labs (SRL) and other journalism organizations on programs designed to increase media literacy among students, faculty and the public.

The Google News Initiative and Student Report Labs are creating educational resources designed to teach young people how to talk to older family members and friends about misinformation. “Through storytelling and co-production with students, we will examine the media literacy needs of different communities and generations and how they can connect with each other to find solutions,” says SRL founder Leah Clapman SRL YouTube video entitled “What Does.” a school board? ” (below).

Google has also partnered with the News Literacy Project (NLP), a non-partisan national not-for-profit educational institution, to bring new media literacy to students, teachers and the general public. Google wants its Newsroom to Classroom initiative to be more accessible to journalists and educators, and to help NLP expand it to areas in California, Colorado, Texas, Iowa, and Nebraska, “places that Google says will be hit hardest by the decline in local news “. .

Finally, the Google News Initiative is expanding its reach in Spanish by partnering with Poynter’s MediaWise project, which focuses on students and seniors. It is working with the team to translate its “How to Spot Misinformation Online” course into Spanish and create a text-based version to be delivered via SMS, “this is how many seniors find and share messages,” the company wrote.

Google said the effort will support its existing projects such as Fact Check Explorer and Search “About This Findings”. However, the company still has a long way to go in reassuring critics in the public eye and governments around the world that it is conquering the misinformation that still plagues its various platforms.