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Google has announced it is letting go a chunk of its workforce from its news division though has not revealed its exact number.
According to CNBC, Google News, responsible in great part for bringing a curated news feed to its users, is letting go of around 40 of its people.
A Google spokesperson quoted by CNBC in its report said the severance comes as part of a transition to a change at Google News.
"We're deeply committed to a vibrant information ecosystem, and news is a part of that long-term investment," the spokesperson said.
"We've made some internal changes to streamline our organization. A small number of employees were impacted. We’re supporting everyone with a transition period, outplacement services and severance as they look for new opportunities at Google and beyond," the person added.
The downsizing comes at a time when there is a deluge of disinformation on X and other social media platforms on the Israel-Hamas war.
As the war enters its second week, a barrage of fake videos, photos, unsubstantiated claims, as well as grabs from computer video games have been found to have cropped up all over social media. Sometimes long enough to have gone around among users to rally partisans before they were debunked.
The European Union has under its Digital Services Act asked Facebook-owner Meta and TikTok to give their responses on the disinformation on the Israel-Hamas war. The two tech firms have been given time till October 25 to furnish their responses.
Responding to the order, a Meta spokesperson, according to a report in BBC, said, "Our teams are working around the clock to keep our platforms safe, take action on content that violates our policies or local law, and coordinate with third-party fact-checkers in the region to limit the spread of misinformation. We're happy to provide further details of this work, beyond what we have already shared, and will respond to the European Commission."
The DSA was enacted in 2022 with a view to safeguard the fundamental rights of the users and enforce compliance on small and large-scale online businesses.
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