5/27/22, 7:10 PM Faster facts: The rapid expansion of fact-checking – News in Asia When it comes to the future of fact-checking, several areas of opportunity were identified among the experts surveyed: audience education, automation, crowdfunding and university collaborations. Audience education Across the region, there has been a proliferation of training programs for media professionals and journalists in fact-checking techniques. The most extensive training program in the region by some way is an ongoing project in India, led by DataLEADS, Internews and Google News Initiative. With support from established fact-checking outlets such as Boom and Alt News, the India Training Network has worked with more than 20,000 participants across India since its inception in 2018, including those from other fact-checking organisations. 24 Smaller-scale training for local journalists and in-house reporters is taking place in many countries, including Japan, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Taiwan. But, in a growing trend, organisations are increasingly directing education initiatives at their audiences and the general public, rather than at media professionals. Survey respondents indicated their organisations are putting more emphasis on running misinformation awareness campaigns and incorporating fact-checking into media literacy programs. Thailand’s Sure and Share Center, a long-time fact-checking initiative run by the state-owned national broadcaster MCOT, for example, collaborates with local universities to train students through a newsroom simulation in the classroom called ‘Fake News Fighter’. In 2020 MCOT also launched a TV show called ‘Fact Check Expert’ aimed at the general public to teach fact-checking tools and techniques. A six-part YouTube series called ‘Promise, Walang Lokohan’ (Promise, No Fooling Around) launched by VERA Files. Vietnam Ne s Agenc ’s ‘No https://newsinasia.jninstitute.org/chapter/faster-facts-the-rapid-expansion-of-fact-checking/ 8/13