Digital Sahafat reaches 4,000 trainees as Pakistan newsroom AI training expands

Google and Tech Valley said their Digital Sahafat programme has trained more than 4,000 journalists, media practitioners and students in Pakistan since its September 2024 launch, four times its initial target. The two organisations marked the initiative’s second year with an event in Lahore.

The training has been delivered across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan by more than 60 trainers. It uses a cascade model in which master trainers teach journalists, media workers and students, and has also involved media partners, government bodies and universities.

Digital Pakistan reported at the programme’s launch that it initially aimed to equip 1,000 journalists to combat misinformation, verify information and improve their digital reporting. The current curriculum combines verification training with tools intended to reduce routine newsroom work and support digital reporting practices.

Participants are taught to use Gemini, Google Trends, Pinpoint and NotebookLM. The sessions also cover reverse-image search, geolocation and SynthID, which are used to assess the authenticity of online images and other multimedia material. Google-certified trainers run the interactive sessions in local languages.

The practical applications range from tracking breaking news and analysing large document sets to summarising transcripts, translating source material, and producing infographics and audio segments. One participant, GEO News journalist Fayyaz Hussain, said the tools had reduced the time needed to establish the location of a viral video from hours to minutes.

A 2025 survey found that 85% of respondents used Google AI tools in their daily professional work, while nearly 68% said they saved more than a quarter of the time previously spent on routine research and reporting. Google also said learners’ confidence in AI rose from 25% to 90%.

Organisers have stressed that these efficiencies should not displace editorial responsibility. Ali Dar said journalists remained responsible for distinguishing truth from falsehood, even where AI accelerated research, transcription, translation and fact-checking.

Pakistan had more than 116 million internet users in early 2025, but journalists in smaller cities and remote regions faced limited connectivity and access to advanced tools. Tech Valley has described Digital Sahafat as part of a broader effort to build digital skills in Pakistan.