$3M Open Fund by Google News Initiative for projects countering vaccine misinformation

Over the past few months, the pandemic has affected the news industry in ways it has never experienced before; challenging existing business models in the process. The global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is exacerbating a perennial problem of misinformation about immunization.

To support additional debunking efforts for this misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccines, the Google News Initiative is launching a COVID-19 Vaccine Counter-Misinformation Open Fund worth up to $3 million.

This Open Fund is intended to support journalistic efforts to effectively fact-check misinformation about the COVID-19 immunization process, with a concentration on projects that aim to reach audiences underserved by fact-checking or targeted by misinformation.

A town hall will be hosted by Google where all relevant information will be shared on this initiative, please join on Wednesday, 20th January 2021, 12 PM SGT (GMT+8)/9:30 AM IST: Google News Initiative Covid-19 Vaccine Counter Misinformation Open Fund Town Hall

Google also encourages the Pakistani journalist fraternity to participate in this program. For more details, please visit the Open Fund’s website to read about the eligibility criteria and find out how to apply.