Journalists being harassed amid erosion of press freedom

Not only in Asia, but around the world, Google is witnessing increasing pressure on journalists and a deterioration of press freedom.

Despite this, Google News Lab, which is part of the Google News Initiative (GNI), is led by Irene Jay Liu, who says there is a strong sense of mission and purpose that the job must be done.

“What has always astounded me is how willing newsrooms in this country are to engage with Google and each other to solve problems and develop. There’s a certain dexterity about her that I admire” In a blog post alongside David Zuckerman, Content, Google News Initiative, Liu stated.

She is a veteran political, investigative, and data journalist who was a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize in national reporting in 2017 as part of the Reuters team that exposed widespread college admissions cheating in the United States.

Irene now fosters innovation and the use of technology in newsrooms through News Lab.

Journalists on the ground, she claims, can understand the link between freedom of expression, press freedom, and the security of their governments and societies “because they remember a time when things were very, very different.”

“They’ve seen the dangers of misinformation and how it can be a life or death situation, particularly during a pandemic. As a result, there’s a strong need to make it work, as if “we don’t have a choice; we have to figure it out as an industry.” Otherwise, the course of history can shift dramatically” Liu was agitated.

Misinformation is a hot topic practically everywhere in the region, and journalists feel that they’re the ones who have to deal with it.

“What’s exciting about Asia is that individuals are getting online for the first time, so there’s an opportunity to develop awareness and resistance to disinformation right now,” Liu explained.

FactShala, a Google initiative that teaches news and information literacy to first-time internet users in India, has been a test bed for this technique.

To get the message out in different languages, Factshala collaborates with reputable sources, civil society organizations, nonprofits, community workers, educators, and journalists.

“There’s a lot we can achieve together if we listen to the media community and respond to what they need,” Liu added.