Anti-disinformation firm Moonshot used this launch to raise $ 7 million

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Anti-disinformation startup Moonshot recently raised $ 7 million in funding. The company helped Facebook and Google tackle fake news online. Harmful disinformation spread like wildfire between the 2020 election and the COVID-19 pandemic. See more stories on the Insider Company Page.

A startup that helps Facebook and Google fight behind-the-scenes fake news recently raised $ 7 million.

Washington-based Moonshot, founded in 2015, uses technology to reach those affected and involved in the production of disinformation, gender-based violence, human trafficking and other online harm.

The company raised funds in a Series A round from venture capital firm Beringea and UK-based investor Mercia.

Disinformation has become a focus of the 2010s, with political polarization, extremist radicalization, and even election results attributed to an increase in poor quality online information.

Moonshot was created by Vidhya Ramalingam and Ross Frenett, who met while working at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based anti-extremism think tank.

The startup counts Facebook, Google, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State and the UK Home Office among its customers.

The two tech giants are among those who have been forced to step up their efforts against disinformation over the past 18 months, as conspiracy theories and anti-vaxx sentiment have spread like wildfire in the wake of the COVID pandemic. -19.

The startup’s mission is to “end online damage” and also provide vulnerable people with positive and supportive messages to guide them away from harmful content. The company also claims to have protected millions of internet users in the United States seeking access to extremist and conspiracy theory content ahead of the January 6 election and uprising.

Among the techniques implemented by Moonshot is something called the “redirect method”, which essentially uses targeted ads to connect people looking for malicious content to alternative messages. Moonshot believes that advertisements can undermine harmful narratives if targeted effectively and thus dissuade people from interacting with them.

The new funds will be used to drive the company’s international expansion, develop its technology and expand its operations to tackle harms such as organized crime.

Speaking in June, Moonshot cofounder Ross Frenett said the startup was a “new kind of company.”

“We don’t see the social good as an added bonus, something for the occasional day away or a well-intentioned trivia,” he said. “Solving the world’s most difficult and complex problems is at the heart of our business model.”

Ramalingam, co-founder of Moonshot, said there has never been a more important time to scale the business.

“What makes Moonshot unique is the audacity of our mission, coupled with our unfailing commitment to civil liberties and those most affected by online damage,” he said.

Insiders took an exclusive look at the pitch deck used to bring them aboard, check them out below:

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