Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more

Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more

Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more

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                <strong>Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site Alt News, interviewed by Rohan Datta (The Telegraph)</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Pratik Sinha: Thank you.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&rsquo;t you?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.</p><p style="text-align:justify">We considered three states &mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&rsquo;t read or write Bengali.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281" title="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281">click here</a> to read more.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta</strong>&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more

Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site Alt News, interviewed by Rohan Datta (The Telegraph)&#039;,
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	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more

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                <strong>Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site Alt News, interviewed by Rohan Datta (The Telegraph)</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Pratik Sinha: Thank you.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&rsquo;t you?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.</p><p style="text-align:justify">We considered three states &mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&rsquo;t read or write Bengali.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281" title="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281">click here</a> to read more.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta</strong>&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. 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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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$disp = &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&amp;rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Pratik Sinha: Thank you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&amp;rsquo;t you?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;We considered three states &amp;mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &amp;mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&amp;rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&amp;rsquo;t read or write Bengali.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more

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                <strong>Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site Alt News, interviewed by Rohan Datta (The Telegraph)</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Pratik Sinha: Thank you.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&rsquo;t you?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.</p><p style="text-align:justify">We considered three states &mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&rsquo;t read or write Bengali.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281" title="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281">click here</a> to read more.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta</strong>&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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		'description' => '<p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Pratik Sinha: Thank you.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&rsquo;t you?</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">We considered three states &mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&rsquo;t read or write Bengali.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281">click here</a> to read more.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta</strong>&nbsp;</p>
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An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more

Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to...',
	'disp' => '<p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Pratik Sinha: Thank you.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&rsquo;t you?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.</p><p style="text-align:justify">We considered three states &mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&rsquo;t read or write Bengali.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281" title="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281">click here</a> to read more.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta</strong>&nbsp;</p>',
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	'title' => 'Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site Alt News, interviewed by Rohan Datta (The Telegraph)',
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	'description' => '<p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News&rsquo;s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik!</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Pratik Sinha: Thank you.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* You are part-Kolkatan, aren&rsquo;t you?</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch?</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">We considered three states &mdash; Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal &mdash; where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority?</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>* Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism?</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We&rsquo;ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can&rsquo;t read or write Bengali.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/the-ability-to-authenticate-information-should-be-a-life-skill-says-alt-news-co-founder-and-fact-checker-pratik-sinha/cid/1858281">click here</a> to read more.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta</strong>&nbsp;</p>
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An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more

Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to...'
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Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site Alt News, interviewed by Rohan Datta (The Telegraph)

-The Telegraph An interview with the Alt News co-founder on his new Kolkata office, his fact-checking mission and more Alt News, the popular fact-checking website, has recently opened an office in Kolkata. Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of the site, has shifted to the city to spearhead Alt News’s activities here. My Kolkata spoke to Sinha about his fight against both misinformation and disinformation, which is deliberate deception; his vision for Alt News; the reasons behind opening an office in Kolkata; lack of digital literacy in India and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow. * My Kolkata: Welcome to Kolkata, Pratik! Pratik Sinha: Thank you. * You are part-Kolkatan, aren’t you? No, no! I have been to Kolkata two or three times while in school and once during my college days. My mother is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad. My father is a Bengali. That is my only connection to the city. My father was born in Kolkata, but never lived here. He grew up in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and all my summer vacations as a child were spent there. * Why did Alt News choose Kolkata over other cities to set up a new branch? We did not choose Kolkata; we chose West Bengal. That is, not the city but the state. While Alt News has become popular among a certain section of the population since we started in February 2017, the majority is still unaware that there is something called fact-checking. We considered three states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal — where we thought we would have the least political opposition to the work we want to do. One reason we chose West Bengal is because I was leading this effort and I speak Bengali, but neither Tamil nor Malayalam. We are also talking about media literacy and community education in rural areas. So it is important for me to know the language to lead that effort. Another reason is that this is also a very important area politically. If we start here and create a model of how an entire state can approach the issue of information literacy, then, maybe, that model can be applied to the neighbouring states too. * So, for your Kolkata base, digital literacy will be the priority? That is why we shifted here. A lot of people are internalising political and health-related misinformation every day and forming opinions based on that misinformation. This is leading to a massive polarisation in society, especially because of the political misinformation. India lacks digital literacy. So we started thinking about where to begin if we were to create a social impact in this sphere. Our plan is to focus on one geographical area at a time but at multiple levels; community, college, schools, wherever there is organised education, and see if we could create a group of people invested in this issue. We wish to introduce the subject of information literacy at all levels. * Will the Kolkata and Ahmedabad branches have separate roles then? One focused on digital literacy, the other on journalism? In a small organisation you have to do multiple things. We are still a 10-people organisation. So some people working on the journalistic side of the job will have to work on the media literacy side as well. But yes, there would be more people who would come in and work on both sides. We’ll soon start Alt News Bangla, which would need dedicated staff. None of us are equipped to work on Alt News Bangla. Although I can speak Bengali, I can’t read or write Bengali. Please click here to read more.   Image Courtesy: My Kolkata, The Telegraph/ Amit Datta