Google, CANVAS launch Cebuano magazine to help fight fake news
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Know how to spot a fake news online with #YOUTHINK
Google and the Center for Art, New Ventures, and Sustainable Development (CANVAS) launched the Cebuano version of #YOUTHink magazine to highlight the importance of local language diversity in battling misinformation.
#YOUTHink is a local youth-oriented magazine that aims to address misinformation through media and information literacy. The 42-page publication comes in a fun and creative zine-style format to engage young readers. It covers several topics such as the types of misinformation and their negative effects, why context matters, how to identify a fact from an opinion, and how to avoid falling for fake information among others. The magazine was translated into Cebuano by teachers and translators Hannah Aranas and Xi Zuq.
Written by CANVAS Founder and Executive Director Gigo Alampay, a lawyer specializing in information and communications technology law and policy, #YOUTHink was first published by CANVAS in English in January 2021, as commissioned and funded by Google in the Philippines. The tech company conceived the title of the magazine to put emphasis on two elements: “youth” which is a vital force in addressing misinformation, and “critical thinking” which is necessary to exercise before believing, posting or sharing any information online.
“Google is committed to helping fight misinformation. We believe in the vital role of producing locally relevant learning materials to achieve this goal, while we continue to take down harmful content and raise authoritative information on our platforms,” says Mervin Wenke, Head of Communications and Public Affairs, Google Philippines. “People find it easier to understand content which uses a language that is local to them, that is why together with CANVAS, we published a Cebuano version of #YOUTHink.”
Similar to the first edition published in January 2021, Google provided funding support for the development, design, and publication of the Cebuano magazine. Initially, 5,000 copies will be distributed for free to schools, communities, and NGOs outside the National Capital Region.
Gigo shares, “Along with the ongoing pandemic, there is also an ‘infodemic’ happening which endangers the lives of Filipinos. Publishing the media and information literacy magazine #YOUTHink in one of the country’s major local languages like Cebuano will help address this problem. Now more than ever, we also need the power of the youth–the target reader of the magazine–to uphold digital responsibility and critical thinking online.”
