Facebook has admitted it shared its users' data with how many tech companies?

Technology giant Google has recently announced the launch of a training programme for journalists with an aim to raise awareness against misinformation and providing new tools to the fourth estate against fake news. The Google News Initiative India Training Network will provide training to 8,000 journalists in English and six other Indian languages in the next one year. The network will select 200 journalists from cities across India, who will hone their skills in verification and training during five-day boot camps that will be organised for English and Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada. The focus of the training will be fact-checking, online verification and digital hygiene for journalists, using a curriculum built by experts.

Election Commission of India has developed cVIGIL, a mobile app, for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. 'cVIGIL' stands for 'Vigilant Citizen'. It is expected to be launched on 18th March 2019. It will be available on Google Playstore. Complaints regarding the model code of conduct and violations can be lodged in during election time. To lodge a complaint, a voter should download the app from Google Play Store. Photos and two-minute video clippings regarding the violation including threatening of voters, causing enmity between voters on caste and religious lines, character assassination of candidates, can be uploaded via the app. Complainants also have the option to remain anonymous. Within 100 minutes of filing the complaint, the complainant will receive feedback on the action taken.

In an attempt to enable users shop better using Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, Facebook has acquired US-based virtual search start-up, GrokStyle, at an undisclosed amount. GrokStyle was founded in 2015 and is based in San Francisco, USA.

India's largest online retailer Flipkart has forged an alliance with video streaming service Hotstar and launched a video advertisement platform. It is part of a broader strategy to generate more revenue from the booming video advertising business. The new platform, Shopper Audience Network, will allow brands to target consumers through personalized video ads on Hotstar. Flipkart plans to leverage data from its massive user base and help brands connect with potential consumers using these targeted ads.

Kenya has been chosen as the home-country for a Google-affiliated company to start its first-announced commercial deal that will deliver internet access to remote areas using high-altitude balloons. The high-altitude balloons have already been deployed in emergencies in Peru and Puerto Rice, where they helped regions devastated by floods and hurricanes.

Alibaba and SoftBank-backed Paytm registered over 137 million UPI transactions in September, becoming the leading contributor to Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments with over 33% of the overall market share. One97 Communications Limited, that owns the brand Paytm, is enabling BHIM UPI for offline payments and over five million offline merchants, out of its 9.5 million merchant-base, now accept Paytm UPI.

WhatsApp launched an India-focused fact-checking feature to combat fake news and rumours starting with the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. Developed in collaboration with India-based media skilling startup PROTO, the tip line feature will help create a database of rumours to study misinformation during elections as part of a research project commissioned and assisted by WhatsApp.

Turkmenistan launched its first messaging app on 24 December 2018. The name of the messaging app is 'BizBarde'. The app will allow the exchange of messages, files, photos, and videos. The application is available via the Google Android platform as well as Apple's iOS and Microsoft Windows.

Bank of Baroda has signed an MoU with agriculture services companies to develop an agriculture digital platform, Baroda Kisan, which will provide solutions for agricultural requirements. BoB has signed the agreement with Skymet Weather Services, Weather Risk Management Services, BigHaat, Agrostar India, EM3 Agri Services, and Poorti Agri Services. The platform intends to make a holistic approach towards solving agricultural plights by means of providing reliable and customised information, inputs for use, the convenience of renting farm equipment, and market linkage for sale of agriculture produce.

Prasar Bharati has tied up with Google and its video sharing platform YouTube to telecast the 72nd Independence Day programme live online on 15th August 2018 to increase digital presence. Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati has stated that the live stream window will be seen on the homepage of Google itself so that people do not have to look for a separate link to go to the Youtube channel. In a first-of-its-kind digital drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech from Red Fort will be live streamed on both Google and YouTube. This year, Doordarshan anchors will introduce the programme from Red Fort instead of the studios. Doordarshan will also translate the PM's speech in over 20 regional languages. The Independence Day coverage will open with a song composed by Shankar Mahadevan.