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FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, was recently funded by the Google News Initiative to help combat misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccination. Credit: Madison Valerio 
The Google News initiative has funded FactCheck.org and Univision Noticias to combat misinformation about the immunization of COVID-19 in Spanish households in the United States.
FactCheck.org is a non-partisan project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center aimed at monitoring the accuracy of statements in American politics. The organization is working with Univision, the primary news source for Hispanics in the United States, to reach a larger audience, reports the Annenberg Public Policy Center. The joint project aims to provide accurate information on COVID-19 vaccines to Spanish households via short explanatory articles and videos in both Spanish and English.
The Google News Initiative launched its $ 3 million Open Fund in January to combat the COVID-19 vaccine misinformation against disadvantaged communities. The fund received approximately 310 applications from 74 countries and announced the recipients on March 16th.
Of the 11 projects selected for Google News Initiative funding, only FactCheck.org and Univision Noticias are based in the United States.
FactCheck.org recognizes the historical link between health inequalities and language barriers, provides factual checks in both English and Spanish, and provides articles, videos, and guidelines to the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. FactCheck.org and Univision previously collaborated during the last two months of the 2020 election.
Jose Zamora, senior vice president of communications at Univision, told the Annenberg Public Policy Center that he believes their collaboration offers the opportunity to reach a larger audience for both English- and Spanish-speaking communities in the United States.
“The pandemic and misinformation have affected the Spanish community excessively,” Zamora said. “This partnership between Univision Noticias and FactCheck.org, with the support of the Google News Initiative, enables us to partner with one of the most respected fact-checking platforms in the US to continue and ensure our fight against misinformation and ensure that Latinos have access to accurate information. ”