Students in Ngô Quyền Secondary School in Hải Phòng City learn about anti-fake news skills under a training campaign launched by Vietnam News Agency. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – A project on fighting fake news by Vietnam News Agency has won top prize in the category “Best Project for News Literacy” – one of ten categories within the framework of the Asian Digital Media 2020 Awards presented by WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers.

The awards are expected to be officially announced at e-Digital Media Asia 2020, taking place on October 15 this year.

VNA’s fake news project, named “The fight against fake news – Creative ideas and Effective solutions”, consists of three components – an anti-fake news song in 15 languages, a TikTok account Factcheckvn to reach young people and a training campaign that equips students with skills to spot fake news.

Nowadays, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, as fake news is spreading all around the world, Việt Nam is not an exception. Vietnam News Agency (VNA), known as one of the leading media agencies in Việt Nam, has been pioneering in the fight against fake news with thousands of in-depth publications under various forms of media. The publications not only alert viewers and readers about the threats of fake news but also actively reveal incorrect information in the press.

Since 2019, VNA has implemented a series of creative initiatives. For example, an anti-fake-news rap song – a combination of rap and news information – was launched in April 2020. The song was first performed in Vietnamese and then translated into 14 other languages including English, Spanish, Russian, Italian, German, Mandarin, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao and Arabic.

The song “Say No to Fake News” was publicised on all websites and platforms of VNA as well as other major channels in Việt Nam like VTV, VOV and VTC.

The song also marked the launch of VNA’s official account factcheckvn on TikTok in April 2020.

This is the first time in Việt Nam a media agency has opened its own channel for fact checking on TikTok.

The clips include information on issues in Việt Nam and around the world, revealing fake news and attracting hundreds of thousands of views. One of the clips topped 1.4 million views.

VNA’s Young Union helped organise a training campaign that provided skills for students to recognise and respond to fake news. The campaign was first carried out in December 2019, reaching about 100 students in Đà Nẵng City and then in HCM City, Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Cần Thơ and Đồng Tháp.

The network of VNA’s correspondents based in all 63 cities and provinces in Việt Nam helped the campaign reach tens of thousands of students who are expected to share the anti-fake news skills with their friends and family members.

The Asian Digital Media Awards presented by WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, recognise Asian publishers who have delivered unique and original digital media projects in the last 12 months. From new approaches to digital subscriptions, to impactful native advertising campaigns - projects that inspire us all.

Entries to the awards compete in ten categories including Best News Website or Mobile Service, Best Paid Content Strategy, Best in Audience Engagement, Best Data Visualisation and Best Digital Marketing Campaign for News Brand.

In the category which VNA’s project won - Best Project for News Literacy, entries must comprise projects aimed at enhancing news literacy skills, promote critical thinking and further the smart consumption of news. Projects that demonstrate strong evidence of success in engaging a specific audience or age group will be granted extra credit.

Also winning in this category is a project by Singapore Press Holdings. VNS