MANILA, Philippines — In an effort to train 300 high school teachers who will educate 9,000 students across the country, giant search engine Google has partnered with the country’s Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication to identify misinformation and disinformation via news literacy sessions.

Google said, funding of AIJC to hold summits in both public and private schools is part of the Google News Initiative’s US$ 10 million media literacy program funded by Google.org to help control the Global and Local News misinformation.

Google said that the program also aimed to include the News Literacy as part of the national curriculum in Media and Information Literacy.

In a press statement Wednesday, Yves Gonzalez, head of the government and public affairs department of Google Philippines said “media and information literacy is a key priority for Google. Together with partners from the public, non-government organizations and private sectors, we hope to play an active and lead role in helping Filipinos build critical thinking skills and knowledge needed to identify unverified news and misinformation.”

Ramon Tuazon, President of AIJC, said that the institute looks forward to work with Google and other partners to help fight fake news.

“We need to rekindle interest in the news and help citizens, especially the youth, rediscover its importance. Teachers play a central role in helping their students becoming discerning in reading news stories across different media platforms,” Tuazon added.

He also said that the program is designed for students to know the importance of news literacy in their daily lives and to empower them with enough knowledge to validate news and other information that they access through online.

In line with UNESCO’s 8th Global Media and Information Literacy Week, Google recently launched the #ThinkFirst campaign to raise awareness and unite stakeholders in encouraging media and information literacy in the country.

The campaign started off with a conference with media members, educators, student journalists, and key opinion leaders as guests at Far Eastern University in Manila. (Gelica Paulo/IAMIGO/CNS)