NewsMobile gets selected for Facebook's Coveted Accelerator Challenge

NewsMobile has been selected from amongst the top fact-checkers in the world for Facebook’s coveted global accelerator challenge.

The Facebook Journalism Project will launch this 10-week training program from early October 2021. It is designed to help build engaged and loyal audiences. This Accelerator Challenge will bring fact-checking organisations together to innovate, learn from experts and one another, and collaborate on new strategies to improve their business both on and off Facebook.

“Through the Covid pandemic, NewsMobile is proud of the work that our team has done to help debunk Covid and vaccine misinformation. The accelerator program will help us learn skill sets to grow our fact-checking operations and will also help us make a bigger impact to stop the flow of misinformation. We are excited to work with the Facebook team and global trainers on this program and we thank them for the opportunity,” said Saurabh Shukla, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of NewsMobile.

The Facebook Accelerator is a global business training program that was launched in 2018 to help local news publishers thrive and build sustainable businesses.

Keren Goldshlager, News Integrity Partnerships Lead at Facebook said, “In the fight against misinformation, we know that it’s important not only to reduce the spread of misleading content, but also to elevate accurate information. The Accelerator will enable us to support our independent fact-checking partners in this mission as they seek to reach wider audiences and connect deeply with their readers.”

The Accelerator program is led by Blue Engine Collaborative, a consortium of mission-driven consultants and advisors focused on driving digital audience growth and revenue, founded by Tim Griggs, a former New York Times and Texas Tribune executive.

“These fact-checking organisations and their work are critical to informing, shaping and strengthening our societies and global community,” Griggs said.

“We’re so excited to work with these teams on solutions that marshal their commitment to delivering truth to readers in order to broaden and deepen engagement with their journalism,” he added.