Project Shakti: Google joins forces with Indian fact-checkers to tackle deepfakes ahead of elections

Google has pledged its support for the ‘Shakti, India Election Fact-Checking Collective’ ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, aiming to combat the dissemination of deepfakes. This initiative, announced on Friday, brings together news publishers and fact-checkers across India to stem the tide of misinformation.

The focus of the project is to foster collaboration among independent fact-checkers and Indian language publishers, offering them a platform to exchange fact checks, research materials, and alerts regarding viral misinformation and deepfakes related to elections.

Through partnerships with news publishers, the initiative aims to amplify fact checks in various Indian languages and formats, including videos, ensuring their dissemination to a wide array of language users and diverse audiences nationwide.

Driven by DataLEADS in partnership with the Misinformation Combat Alliance and other fact-checkers, and with support from the Google News Initiative (GNI), the ‘Shakti’ project also includes training for news organizations and fact-checkers in advanced fact-checking techniques, deepfake detection, and utilization of tools such as the Fact Check Explorer.

Google stressed the importance of prioritising publishers producing original news content in languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, and Marathi within the Fact-Checking Collective.

Bharat Gupta, President of the Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA), emphasized the critical need to empower people with trustworthy information in a digital age where information spreads rapidly. “In an era where digital information flows faster than ever, the need to empower people with trustworthy and credible information has never been more critical,” said Gupta.

Google highlighted its ongoing efforts since 2018 to support journalists, media educators, and journalism students worldwide, having trained over 65,000 individuals in more than 15 languages. This training equips them with the necessary digital tools and skills to navigate the challenges of misinformation while delivering compelling and accurate stories.