Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has decided to set up fact checking units to counter false news and information propaganda, state Minister Priyank Kharge announced on Monday.

The Congress government in Karnataka has issued a tender in this regard and has shortlisted five companies, according to the state’s IT Minister.

Addressing reporters here on Monday, Kharge said that once the verification process of these companies is completed, the names of the firms will be announced.

“The shortlisted companies possess expertise in the domains of artificial intelligence, data analysis and procedures for preventing false news and fact-checking,” the Minister stated.

The criteria for selecting the companies include that they should be Indian and have at least a three-year minimum experience in fact-checking and related services.

“The government will give preference to trustworthy companies,” Kharge added.

He also informed that a total of seven companies had approached the government, but a decision to include the two remaining will only be taken once the verification process is completed.

“The plan is to have three wings for checking false news and propaganda. The first is a fact-checking team that will detect false news and resolve it. The second one is an analytics squad that will monitor the ecosystem of false news, and the third is a capability improvement team that will focus on creating awareness and educating people about false news and propaganda,” Kharge said, adding that it will also carry out public campaigns.