Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Google Pledges Over $29 Million to Help Fight Misinformation, Fake News

Google Pledges Over $29 Million to Help Fight Misinformation, Fake News

Amid the 2020 election and the pandemic, there has been growing concern about the spread of disinformation and misinformation. As a result, the chief executives of global tech giants Facebook, Google and Twitter recently found themselves in the spotlight of a tense hearing, as lawmakers questioned them over their companies’ role in the propagation.

Google has pledged over $29 million to help launch the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF) to help fight fake news. In upcoming weeks, the EMIF will provide competitive grants to researchers, fact-checkers, non-profits and other organizations who participate in disinformation research.


The pledge from Google came in the form of a company blog published on Wednesday by Matt Brittin, president of Google Europe, Middle East and Africa. In the blog titled “Google's €25 million contribution to media literacy,” Brittin ensured the goal of the company would be helping consumers get the information they want, the answers they need and the accuracy they deserve by strengthening media literacy skills, fighting misinformation and providing support for facts.

Brittin explained in the Wednesday blog that proposals for the grant will be chosen by independent committees made up of industry experts, underscoring that “Google won’t be involved in any decision making related to the fund.”



Last week, heads of the leading US Tech companies - Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey - were summoned by congressional lawmakers to appear before a virtual hearing with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

During the mid-March meeting, officials such as Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) accused the platforms of allowing misinformation tied to the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 vaccine to be amplified online.

Doyle cited research that found 65% of anti-vaccine disinformation online came from 12 individuals or organizations. “Social media companies need to step up to protect our civil rights, our human rights, and human lives – not sit on the sidelines as our nation drowns in a sea of disinformation,” he said during the hearing.

Disinformation is defined as information that is intentionally falsified and meant to mislead or deceive the public.

Lawmakers also touched heavily on the idea of reforming Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 internet-related piece of legislation that provides tech companies with the ability to decide how to moderate content on their platforms. The law, which also shields them from liability over what their users post, proved to be a thorn in former US President Donald Trump’s side as he repeatedly called for the measure to be revoked.

Citing the former president’s role in the deadly Capitol riot, Twitter permanently suspended Trump’s account after indicating that he repeatedly violated platform policy. At the time, many netizens praised the move but demanded more be done to combat issues related to the spread of misinformation, especially concerning the distribution of the novel coronavirus vaccine.


As the first tech company to contribute to EMIF, Brittin encouraged other organizations to “follow our lead and support this important work.” The EMIF is currently managed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in partnership with the European University Institute and the European Digital Media Observatory.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×