Aurangabad firm to verify facts for Facebook in Marathi, Hindi and Malayalam

  • | Wednesday | 13th February, 2019

AURANGABAD: In an attempt to curb fake news on its social media platforms, Facebook has roped in a city-based IT firm for assisting it in its drive to fact-check the material that is shared on its social media platforms.Aurangabad-based firm www.Factcrescendo.com, established in June 2018, was hired to check facts in three languages -- Marathi, Hindi and Malyalam. And one way to do that is by growing our partnership with third-party fact-checkers.”Khanduri stated that FB in India now has seven partners covering six languages, who will review and rate accuracy of stories on Facebook.The country in the past few years has witnessed a spike in violent mob lynching incidents that are attributed to rumours spread over WhatsApp and Facebook.In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for 16 billion US dollars. It is among seven firms the social media giant has tied up with from different parts of the country for the fact-checking exercise.The firm is certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), a unit of the Florida, US based Poynter Institute.This is the only firm from Maharashtra to be hired by FB for this purpose.“All the fact-checkers would assist FB in fact checking the news in the languages of English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi,” an official said.Factcrescendo.com confirmed that it would assist Facebook in its drive to fact-check the flow of news on its platform and termed it an honour to assist the social media giant, but refused to divulge details.Sources said these third-party fact-checkers are part of the expanding roster of Facebook’s programme to fight ‘fake news’ ahead of general elections in India.Besides flagging fake news, the firm is expected to red-flag accounts on FB that are seen frequently circulating fake news so action can be taken against them.Fact checkers will be responsible for not only cross-verifying the veracity of the news but also for putting up facts about the given news.The head of news partnership for Facebook India, Manish Khanduri, in a statement released on Monday, said, “We are committed to fighting the spread of false news on Facebook, especially ahead of the 2019 General Election campaign season.

AURANGABAD: In an attempt to curb fake news on its social media platforms, Facebook has roped in a city-based IT firm for assisting it in its drive to fact-check the material that is shared on its social media platforms.Aurangabad-based firm www.Factcrescendo.com, established in June 2018, was hired to check facts in three languages -- Marathi, Hindi and Malyalam. It is among seven firms the social media giant has tied up with from different parts of the country for the fact-checking exercise.The firm is certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), a unit of the Florida, US based Poynter Institute.This is the only firm from Maharashtra to be hired by FB for this purpose.“All the fact-checkers would assist FB in fact checking the news in the languages of English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi,” an official said.Factcrescendo.com confirmed that it would assist Facebook in its drive to fact-check the flow of news on its platform and termed it an honour to assist the social media giant, but refused to divulge details.Sources said these third-party fact-checkers are part of the expanding roster of Facebook’s programme to fight ‘fake news’ ahead of general elections in India.Besides flagging fake news, the firm is expected to red-flag accounts on FB that are seen frequently circulating fake news so action can be taken against them.Fact checkers will be responsible for not only cross-verifying the veracity of the news but also for putting up facts about the given news.The head of news partnership for Facebook India, Manish Khanduri, in a statement released on Monday, said, “We are committed to fighting the spread of false news on Facebook, especially ahead of the 2019 General Election campaign season. And one way to do that is by growing our partnership with third-party fact-checkers.”Khanduri stated that FB in India now has seven partners covering six languages, who will review and rate accuracy of stories on Facebook.The country in the past few years has witnessed a spike in violent mob lynching incidents that are attributed to rumours spread over WhatsApp and Facebook.In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for 16 billion US dollars.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Latest Aurangabad headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles