By Our Staff
Jagran New Media’s fact-checking wing, Vishvasnews.com, has launched “Sach Ke Sathi: Seniors”, a media literacy campaign to help senior citizens learn how to detect online misinformation, protect themselves from deepfakes and access trustworthy news and information.
Commenting on the launch, the CEO of Jagran New Media, Bharat Gupta, said: “The collaboration between Vishvasnews.com, Google News Initiative (GNI), the fact-checking community, and MICA fulfils our objective to address the critical issue of media literacy specifically within the senior demographic, with a focus on digital safety and fact-checking. Built upon shared synergy, the 7th edition of Sach ke Sathi will enable us to collectively prioritize the advancement of media literacy among seniors and create a robust foundation for a digitally literate society. It has been our endeavour at Jagran New Media to follow the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that underline our dedication to this important cause.”
Added Surabhi Malik, Google News Lab Lead in India: “Sach ke Sathi Seniors is a much-needed collaborative media literacy effort that will empower senior citizens with critical thinking skills, help them detect misinformation and also prepare them to tackle deepfakes. Mis and disinformation is a serious problem that clogs the information pipeline and prevents the flow of trustworthy & authoritative information, which is all the more crucial during elections. We are proud to support this collaborative initiative that will help participants better assess the credibility of information available online.”
Said Santosh K Patra, Associate Professor, Head of Media and Entertainment Management Area and Centre for Media and Entertainment Studies (CMES), MICA: “As the academic partner of Sach Ke Saathi Seniors, we see it as an opportunity to address the issue of digital information literacy with Vishvas News. We have designed a curriculum by adopting an interactive and learner-centric pedagogy that not only imparts knowledge but also fosters critical thinking skills to tackle the challenges of fake news, misinformation, disinformation and malinformatiom which is prevalent like a menace in our society today.”