DIGITAL LIFE

"Democracy depends on access to quality information"

Helena Martins spoke to Lusa on the day an agreement was signed between Google and the Portuguese Press Association (API) to promote media literacy in young and old, including tools to combat fake news.
Google's financial support for this project is 250,000 euros.
This protocol, within the framework of the Media Veritas project, proposes to provide "newspaper subscriptions to teachers" for use in class, with students, according to the API, in addition to bringing newspapers to clubs, day centers and other institutions that bring together the elderly.
According to Helena Martins, this is just one of the initiatives of Google, which through the innovation fund DNI has supported the media in Europe, among which the Portuguese, who apply for the program.
"Disinformation is a global challenge", reason why "we need the collaboration of all", added the person in charge of public policies of Google Portugal.
For Google, "healthy democracy depends on access to quality information" and fake news has no "one-size-fits-all" response.
That is, "we believe in collaborative work", be it with the media, with governments, among other entities, he added.
Asked about the fact that Europe will cross over the next two years - by 2020 - about 50 electoral acts, Helena Martins said that Google is aware of this, and a "set of initiatives" is planned.
"In Portugal we are going to promote 'workshops' for political parties and candidates," where Google will show how their products work and how fake news can be detected, he explained.
Misinformation is "super on the agenda" and to Google it is important for voters to know how to get credible information.
The API project is funded by Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, in collaboration with the 'Google News Initiative'.
Google launched last year this fake news project, which includes developing tools, partnerships with media organizations and support programs to help innovation in the industry. Lusa