Alt News
 | |
| Available in | English, Hindi |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | , India |
| Owner | Pravda Media Foundation[1] |
| Founder(s) | Pratik Sinha, Mohammed Zubair[2] |
| Products | Web portal |
| URL | www |
| Current status | Active |
Alt News is an Indian non-profit fact checking website founded and run by former software engineer Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair.[3][4] It was launched on 9 February 2017 to combat fake news. In October 2022
History
Alt News was founded in
Sinha has allegedaly received threats to his life from fugitive underworld don Ravi Pujari, demanding that he stop producing content.[17][18]
In July 2022, co-founder Zubair was arrested by
Process
Alt News works by monitoring misinformation, primarily identifying that are sufficiently viral. They use CrowdTangle, a Facebook tool that publishers use to track how content spreads across the internet, for monitoring Facebook pages that have put out misinformation at some point in the past and are on either side of the ideological spectrum. They use TweetDeck, a Twitter management tool to similarly monitor content on Twitter posted by people who have been known to tweet misinformation frequently. They also monitor multiple WhatsApp groups that they have been able to infiltrate and also receive content from users who alert them on social media and WhatsApp.[22]
Popular work
Alt News identified the individuals running the
The Alt News team wrote a book titled India Misinformed: The True Story[28] published by HarperCollins which was released in March 2019.[29] The book was "pre-endorsed" by Arundhati Roy.[30] In 2017, Sinha was invited to the Google NewsLab Asia-Pacific Summit to discuss potential solutions to fake news.[4]
References
- ^ "Top 7 Platforms That Are Busting Fake News On Social Media". Analytics India. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- ^ Joy, Shemin (6 September 2020). "FIR against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair on NCPCR complaint". Deccan Herald.
- ^ Manish, Sai (8 April 2018). "Busting fake news: Who funds whom?". Business Standard. Retrieved 3 March 2020 – via Rediff.com.
- ^ a b c Sengupta, Saurya (1 July 2017). "On the origin of specious news". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Home – Peace Research Institute Oslo". www.prio.org.
- ^ "10 Instances That Show A Fake News Explosion Is Taking Place In India". HuffPost. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ Dhawan, Himanshi (15 May 2017). "Breaking fake news". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- International Fact-Checking Network, Poynter.
- ^ Alawadhi, Neha (4 May 2020). "WhatsApp launches chatbot to bust fake news, allies with global group". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Tiwari, Ayush. "The embarrassment that is PIB Fact Check: Who fact-checks this 'fact checker'?". Newslaundry. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "A fact-checker's life: Exposing fake news and communalism, surviving social boycott". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Mantas, Harrison (20 May 2020). "Why would Indian police issue and then withdraw a manual on misinformation? Political divides could be the answer". Poynter Institute.
- ^ [9][10][11][12]
- ^ a b "To stop misinformation, ask questions: Interview with Alt News founder Pratik Sinha". The News Minute. 22 April 2019.
- ^ Sen, Shreeja (12 May 2014). "Gujarat riots activist Mukul Sinha dies at 63". livemint.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ Janmohamed, Zahir. "Mukul Sinha, self-effacing Modi opponent and labour organiser who disliked being called a leader". scroll.in. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "News website owner gets threat call from 'gangster'". The Indian Express. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Mukul Sinha's son gets threat call from 'Pujari'". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair arrested for 'hurting religious sentiments'". Hindustan Times. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Kissi Se Na Kehna! Mohammed Zubair Arrested for Tweeting Photo from 1983 Hindi Film". The Wire. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ See links below
- Yasir, Sameer (28 June 2022). "Arrest of Journalist in India Adds to Press Freedom Concerns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- Welle (http://www.dw.com), Deutsche. "India: Arrest of Muslim fact-checker raises concerns over press freedom | DW | 28.06.2022". DW.COM. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- "Delhi police arrest Muslim journalist Mohammed Zubair over tweet from 2018". the Guardian. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- "Arrest of Indian Muslim journalist sparks widespread outrage". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- "Indian journalist arrested over Twitter post". Financial Times. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- Yasir, Sameer (28 June 2022). "Arrest of Journalist in India Adds to Press Freedom Concerns". The New York Times.
- ^ "Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha on the fake-news ecosystem in India". The Caravan.
- ^ "Inside the world of Hindu right wing fake news website DainikBharat.org". Hindustan Times. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ Bhuyan, Anoo. "What the Indian Media Can Learn From the Global War on Fake News". thewire.in. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ a b "India ministry mocked for 'appropriating' Spain border". BBC News. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ The Telegraph. Archived from the originalon 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "How Alt News is trying to take on the fake news ecosystem in India". Firstpost. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- OCLC 1274781508.
- ^ "Upcoming book to lay bare propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes". The Times of India. IANS. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- ^ "Upcoming book to lay bare propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes". Outlook India. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.