NU felicitates faculty, conducts workshop on fact-checking

DIMAPUR — The department of chemistry at Nagaland University, Lumami, on Monday hosted a felicitation programme at the department’s seminar hall to recognise the outstanding achievements of its faculty members.

According to an update, the programme highlighted the notable contributions of three faculty members – Prof. Ambrish Singh for being listed among the world’s Top 2% Scientists for 2024 and Prof. M Indira Devi and Prof. Dipak Sinha for being elected as fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The professors took the opportunity to share their journeys, reflecting on the challenges faced in the department’s early years and celebrating its recent advancements.

Also read: Three professors of NU among world’s top 2% scientists

They offered words of encouragement to the students, urging them to stay resilient in the face of challenges and to pursue innovative solutions to problems.

The event was attended by both students and staff.

Workshop on fact-checking

Meanwhile, a one-day workshop on fact-checking and verification was held at the department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Nagaland University, Lumami, on September 20, with Dr. Moalemba Jamir, associate editor of The Morung Express and certified Google News Initiative India Training Network trainer, as the resource person.

The objective of the workshop was to educate journalists and media educators on combating misinformation, according to a press release.

In addition to highlighting the current global challenges of countering the spread of fake news, the resource person conducted an exercise to test the group’s awareness of fake news.

He led a test to assess the group’s vigilance in identifying false information and noted that preventing the spread of misinformation is a challenging task for modern society.

Highlighting that pictures and videos make up the majority of fake news, he said that such content has the power to capture attention and create a lasting impression, potentially influencing a person’s decision-making and behaviour.

Dr. Jamir emphasised the various tactics individuals use to spread false information, including whataboutism, name-calling, emotional language, and conspiracy theories. He also highlighted the features of fake news, such as propaganda and clickbait.

He stated that technology has made it easier to create convincing, false images, making visuals simple carriers of misinformation.

Additionally, he demonstrated how to validate visual information using essential tools like Google Reverse Image Search, InVid, Google Transcribe, and Pinpoint.

Dr. Jamir concluded that best practices for fact-checking include using various verification methods, cross-checking information from different sources, critically assessing material, considering context and metadata, and verifying information before sharing. He also noted that while AI is useful, it is not always accurate and should be used as a tool, not a master, for fact-checking.

Previously, Dr. Jamir had conducted similar workshops aimed at enhancing fact-checking, verification, and related skills with journalists at the Kohima Press Club and the Eastern Mirror newsroom, as well as with media students at Patkai Christian College (Autonomous) and St. Joseph University.