FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2020 
NAHJ announces first ever partnership with Google News Initiative to train 250 journalists in Spanish language media
Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is proud to announce the first ever partnership with Google News Initiative to bring Spanish-language journalists the latest technical available tools to build capacity in newsrooms at scale.
After the 2016 US presidential election there was an increase in misinformation commonly referred to as “fake news.” Even though social media is not the main source of election news for the majority of Americans, 14 percent of Americans called social media their “most important source of news.” Three months before the 2016 election, false stories favoring President Donald Trump were shared a total of 30 million times on Facebook, while those favoring Hillary Clinton were shared 8 million times. Fake news populated social media at an incredible speed confusing and providing misinformation to a great number of Americans.
For the 2020 election, NAHJ is working to make sure journalists are equipped with the tech tools that will expedite and increase verification capabilities, since traditional verification techniques and fact-checking often don’t match the speed at which disinformation spreads.
“The information needs of the public during 2016 took us by surprise, but also has motivated us to prepare journalists for what is yet to come,” said Alberto B. Mendoza, NAHJ Executive Director. “We are excited to partner with Google News Initiative not only because we will equip journalists with the best tools, but because we’re focused on Spanish language newsrooms.”
This is the first time NAHJ partners with Google News Initiative to bring peer-to-peer training to newsrooms across the state. NAHJ will partner with 12 different Spanish language newsrooms across the continental United States and Puerto Rico to train 250 journalists. The trainings will run from January to mid-July 2020.
The trainings will be available to entry, mid-career, and senior journalists in all areas of news gathering and across all formats. The training is open to non-NAHJ members. However, all participants will receive a complimentary membership.The two-hour course will introduce Spanish-language journalists skills and tools that every journalist needs for reporting. Hands-on trainers will introduce the latest trends in misinformation and “fake news”.
While the newly established trainings by NAHJ will be in Spanish, the association will help to refer any journalists interested in the pre-existing English language Google News Initiative training. Follow our social media platforms or visit NAHJ.org for more information.
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About the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ)
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in the news media. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. NAHJ has approximately 2,500 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals, and journalism educators. For more information please visit NAHJ.org or follow on Twitter @NAHJ.
About Google News Initiative
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Via the Google News Initiative, the effort is to build a stronger future for journalism by elevating and strengthening quality journalism, evolving business models to drive sustainable growth and empowering news organizations through technological innovation.
Media Contact:
BA Snyder
Veritas Group for NAHJ
512.630.6337
BA@VeritasAustin.com