By: Tanja Brkić/ Nova24tv
The CEO of Alphabet Inc. and the web giant Google, Sundar Pichai, ensured that the IT companies are focused on providing reliable information about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To this end, he also talked with Prime Minister Janez Janša on Tuesday via an audio-video link. Pichai also publicly thanked the leaders who recently visited Ukraine on the social network Twitter and said that they could count on their support.
Information technology companies are focused on providing reliable information and suppressing Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine, the chief executive officer of Google and Alphabet Inc., Sundar Pichai, said on Tuesday, when he met with the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, in Warsaw, to discuss ways to help the people of Ukraine in the war. Pichai said after the meeting that they are also working hard to ensure that trustworthy and useful information reaches people through their products, ABC News reports.
Pichai and Morawiecki also had a remote meeting with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša and a representative for the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, as the latter is currently infected with COVID-19. The three prime ministers met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv two weeks ago to discuss the best ways to secure support for the country. The leaders of countries bordering Russia and Ukraine also called on the heads of large IT companies to help in the fight against the spread of false information and also asked them to help curb Russian propaganda about the war. Meanwhile, Morawiecki also personally thanked Pichai for his role in spreading the truth during the war.
“Thank you, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister Janez Janša, and the office of Prime Minister Petr Fiala for your time and insights after your visit to Kyiv. It is remarkable how you have brought global attention to the needs of refugees from the war in Ukraine, and you can count on our support,” Pichai wrote on Twitter, thanking the three leaders.
Namely, the leaders have recognised the role of Google and other information platforms as critical in this war for freedom, and Google has now included air strike warnings for Ukrainians, information on shelters and humanitarian aid in its range of products and functionalities, as well as blocking channels and state-funded Russian media-related web applications. Google has donated 35 million dollars to humanitarian organisations operating in Ukraine and is offering grants and scholarships to refugees and Polish non-governmental organisations. Another 10 million dollars will be donated to support civil society in Ukraine.