Google News Initiative (GNI) India Training Network in partnership with DataLEADS
Google has unveiled the ‘PollCheck Election Academy 2023,’ a digital training series designed for journalists covering the upcoming elections in India. This initiative is being launched by the Google News Initiative (GNI) India Training Network in partnership with DataLEADS and In Old News, aiming to provide journalists and newsrooms with the necessary tools and skills to collect, verify, and present authoritative and engaging stories related to the elections.
The PollCheck 2023 program, which is the fourth and largest edition, will offer training in 15 languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and English.
This three-part initiative will cover various topics, including online verification, video storytelling, digital safety, utilizing YouTube for news, enhancing media literacy, and practicing data journalism, among others.
In states where elections are scheduled, such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram, Google plans to organize full-day, in-person training sessions with expert trainers.
Furthermore, journalists and editors interested in preparing their teams for election coverage can join the Pollcheck Hub. They will have the opportunity to host in-person training sessions by GNI India Training Network in their own newsrooms. These sessions can be conducted in any of the 15 languages.
