Draft:DataLEADS

DataLEADS is a media and research company established in 2017 by Indian journalist Syed Nazakat. and Dr. Saba Mehmood.

DataLEADS, headquartered in New Delhi, India is a private service based company working on data research, media literacy, fact-checking, health literacy, infodemic management, and digital transformation. DataLEADS works with partners around the globe to ‘promote media and information literacy across Asia and beyond’.

According to their mission, “DataLEADS aims to foster a resilient and comprehensible information ecosystem that enables and empowers communities.”

DataLEADS regularly undertakes initiatives that aim to enhance the media information ecosystem in Asia and beyond through various research projects and initiatives like Bihar Information and Media Literacy Initiative (BIMLI), FactShala, Asian Dispatch, Google News Initiative India Training Network and First Check.

History
DataLEADS was established in 2017 with a focus on impacting the global information ecosystem through data journalism, media literacy, fact-checking, and digital transformation. Over the years, it has received global recognition, garnering awards and establishing key initiatives such as First Check and FactShala. The organization is committed to combating misinformation and promoting news and information literacy across Asia and beyond.

Asian Dispatch
DataLEADS established Asian Dispatch in 2024, a pan-Asia partnership of news and media organizations, dedicated to empowering Asian newsrooms to narrate their unique stories and create a robust, pan-Asian public interest digital journalism newsroom and network.

Project Shakti
Ahead of 2024 Indian elections, DataLEADS initiated a collaboration between fact-checkers and publishers to fight election-related misinformation. The project is supported by Google News Initiative and the Indian fact-checking alliance, Misinformation Combat Alliance.

Fact-Checking Network
DataLEADS runs one of the largest fact-checking training networks globally, supported by the Google News Initiative, focusing on building capacities and skills to fight misinformation and improve news literacy. In 2019, in partnership with BoomLive, Alt News, First Draft and Storyful, and with support from the Google News Initiative and Internews, DataLEADS developed a curriculum with modules for photo and video verification and social media monitoring including India-specific case studies.

Other Activities
Other projects include the Bihar Information and Media Literacy Initiative (BIMLI), a research project, FactShala, a media literacy initiative, and First Check, a health fact-checking portal. BIMLI, a collaboration with Carlos III University of Madrid and supported by the Mercury Project of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York, is part of the organisation's efforts to improve the efficacy of media literacy in Indian schools

Awards and Recognitions
DataLEADS has been the recipient of multiple global awards. Among other recognitions, the organisation has received the British Medical Journal Award and the Membership Puzzle Project award by New York University and the Membership Puzzle Project award.

Partnerships and Collaborations
DataLEADS has ongoing partnerships with global organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Centre for Investigative Journalism, Forum on Information and Democracy, and the International Fact-Checking Network.