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BOOM Live @boomlive_in Fact-driven journalism. India's 62.8K Non-
first independent online Government
resource to fight
misinformation, explain issues
and keep the internet safe.
FactChecker.in @FactCheckIndia India's first dedicated fact- 57.1K Non-
checking initiative. We verify Government
statements and other claims
made by those in public life
Times Fact Check @timesfactcheck A @timesinternet initiative to 19.6K Non-
check fake news. Non-partisan. Government
Fact-driven.
WebQoof @QuintFactCheck WebQoof – A person who 12K Non-
believes everything they read or Government
see on the Internet. Don’t be a
#WebQoof.
Alt News Science @AltNewsScience Fact-checking science & health 8.2K Non-
misinformation. Government
Factly @FactlyIndia Well known Public Information 4K Non-
& Fact-Checking Initiative. Government
Signatory of the IFCN Code of
Principles.
Vishvas.News @newsvishvas A premier Hindi fact checking 2.6K Non-
website that is committed to Government
debunking misinformation,
disinformation and mal-
information.
Fact Crescendo @FactCrescendo An independent, unbiased fact- 1.1K Non-
(also, in Assamese, checking website committed to Government
Bangla, Tamil, bringing the fact behind every
Malayalam, Marathi, news, debunking false,
Gujarati, and Odia misinformed news.
languages)
(Source: Author's compilation; Data as of 20 October 2020)

Other than the initiatives mentioned in Table 1, some fact-check initiatives are undertaken by the Indian
media houses. For example, India Today Group runs the India Today Anti Fake News War Room
(AFWA) with a hashtag #AFWAFactCheck meant for social media. The Table also shows various fact-
check initiatives of the leading media houses, such as Times of India's @TimesFactCheck, and The
Quint's #WebQoof. Most of the non-government fact-check initiatives, as described in Table 1, are
certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) and Facebook partners in fact-checking in
[1]
the country .
With the enormous impacts and consequences of fake news caused in India in recent times, the
Government of India has taken several counter-mechanism and media strategies for tackling the spread
of fake news at their roots. One such initiative was the establishment of the PIBFactChecks unit under
the aegis of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB)
in November 2019. PIBFactChecks unit works on the four principles of "Find, Assess, Create and Target"

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