She looks at the world through the eyes of a fact-checker and misinformation bunker.
For Priyanka Jha, Senior Editor at Alt News, India’s most well-known fact-checking portal, facts are fundamental. She thrives on the daily challenge of checking facts and debunking misinformation as part of her work life.
According to experts surveyed for the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risk Report, India ranks highest for the risk of misinformation and disinformation. Given this, the work of fact-checking is of great importance. In this freewheeling interview, she shares her journey, the highs and lows of her job as a fact-checker, and the challenges she faces.
Reflecting on her journey, Jha says, “In May-June 2017, I saw a Facebook post by Pratik Sinha, Alt News co-founder, about the need for an English to Hindi translator. I immediately reached out to Pratik to join Alt News. I was really impressed with the work done by Alt News, but everything was in English. Much of the misinformation was in Hindi, but fact-checks were mostly available in English. I started with Alt News as a volunteer to help with translations. At that time, I had no formal training in journalism; I was a graduate with a few years of experience in teaching and the non-profit sector.”
As Hindi is Jha’s first language, she was excited about the possibility of having fact-check stories published in Hindi, which would ensure a larger and deeper reach.
She adds, “Pratik responded positively and mentioned that he was also exploring and learning fact-checking skills, so it would be a good opportunity to learn and apply those skills as we progressed.”
In the early days, Jha was working full-time with an NGO, so she would visit Pratik after her work shifts. He would give her exercises and translation work. At that time, Alt News wasn’t a registered entity. Alt News was registered in September 2017, and Priyanka joined as a full-time employee in January 2018.
Reflecting on her early days of fact-checking, Jha says, “Over the past six years at Alt News, I’ve learned how different segments of the media misinform people daily. I was unaware of this before joining Alt News. I’ve authored over 400 fact-check stories before moving to the editorial board of Alt News in 2021.
“Additionally, I created some videos for Alt News back in 2019-20. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to cover stories on a variety of topics such as politics, communal violence, media analysis, technology, and hate speech.”
At work, Jha has learned to use open-source intelligence tools such as Reverse Image Search, Google and Twitter search operators, the video analysis tool InVID, social media monitoring tools like TWINT and CrowdTangle, and geolocation tools such as Google Maps, Google Earth, Street View, and recent AI tools for fact-checking.
She adds, “The journey has been absolutely fantastic; every day you learn something new and contribute positively.”
While many of us know about fact-checking, few understand the day-to-day process of verifying misinformation or disinformation. When asked about the process of fact-checking and how long it takes to authenticate, Jha explains, “We have a small team constantly monitoring social media. We have a WhatsApp number where people send requests. Of course, on X, we are constantly tagged, and we receive requests via email as well.
“When we receive something, we check how viral it is and how often it is being shared. We assess the nature of the misinformation and its potential impact on social cohesion. For example, if there’s a child kidnapping rumour, even if it isn’t widely shared, we would investigate because of the potential impact. Religious hatred also ranks high on our priority list. We also give high priority to current affairs.”
Recently, the entire Alt News team was busy with fact-checking related to Bangladesh because social media was flooded with false information about recent events there.
Elaborating on the fact-checking process, Jha adds, “We use basic online tools such as Google Reverse Image Search and the video analysis tool InVID daily. Additionally, we try to contact locals, sometimes the police, and witnesses. This can be time-consuming as reaching the right people takes effort. Depending on the story, some investigations take 2-3 hours, while others may take 2-3 days or even months.”
Fact-checking can be nerve-wracking as it involves a lot of hard work and requires constant vigilance. Jha discusses her biggest challenges at work, “As a senior editor and the longest-serving employee at Alt News, all content must go through me first. I have to review every single story, video, and social media post. My biggest challenge is ensuring that I am never wrong. I’ve developed a habit of scrutinising every detail whenever I review an article or video. Missing even minor details is unacceptable.”
Fact-checkers are also exposed to a lot of violent and toxic content, in addition to an overload of information. Jha mentions how she maintains balance amidst this exposure, “It’s true that exposure to violent and toxic content has its effects. But when it’s your profession, you have no choice but to process it. I’ve become accustomed to it and can perform my daily tasks even after watching distressing content.
“However, my mind often revisits these visuals. To cope with anxiety and sadness, I run, practise yoga and meditation, and listen to my favourite music. Taking breaks from work helps, and I also turn to therapy when needed.”
Regarding trolls, Jha says, “I simply ignore them now. When I was new to this, they affected me a lot, but not anymore. They seek attention and engagement; if you don’t give it to them, they move on.”
With the rise in mobile users in India and the country’s low digital literacy, Jha discusses the way forward to educate people on distinguishing fact from fiction. She says, “The largest group of people in India who consume misinformation often have an ideological bias and a lack of digital and information literacy. They consume and propagate information without realising its falsehood.”
She believes regular users need to be more aware of the emotions triggered by the information they read. “A lot of misinformation is designed to provoke extreme emotions like hate, anger, and bitterness. It’s crucial to be aware of these emotions, take a step back, and analyse information critically. People need to educate themselves,” she says.
Like many fact-checkers globally, she advocates for educating school and college students about fact-checking. Integrating digital literacy into school education is essential for building a strong foundation for the future. Students should learn to evaluate sources, understand media messages, recognise confirmation bias, and use technology responsibly.
Jha has also been involved in fact-checking training programmes and appreciates the positive feedback received. She says, “It’s always rewarding to train and interact with people who want to be responsible social media users and citizens. It’s helpful because many of us use social media and receive forwarded messages from friends and relatives. Having verification skills allows individuals to verify information before sharing it and inform others about the truth.”
Jha is always eager to contribute to raising awareness about fact-checking. In her world, it’s facts that count.
Deepika Sahu has been a journalist for 29 years and has worked with some of India’s leading media houses. She is currently engaged in independent content creation and curation. Twitter: @menondeepika | Instagram: @moodydeepika | Facebook: Deepika Sahu
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