In a bid to help its news partners during the COVID-19 pandemic, Google on Friday announced to waive ad serving fees for news publishers globally on its Ad Manager for five months.

Many news publishers globally use Google Ad Manager to support their digital businesses with advertising.

"As the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on our global economy, the Google News Initiative is working to identify ways to provide immediate financial support to those news organizations around the world producing original journalism," Jason Washing, Director, Global Partnerships – News, said in a statement.

"Over the coming days, we'll notify our news partners that meet the requirements about the details of the programme, and what they can expect to see in their account statements," Washing added.

Ads that appear alongside news coverage help fund the journalists who write breaking news stories, and keep news sites and apps running.

Google has also announced a Journalism Emergency Relief Fund to deliver urgent aid to thousands of small, medium and local news publishers globally.

The funding is open to news organizations producing original news for local communities during this time of crisis and will range from the low thousands of dollars for small hyper-local newsrooms to low tens of thousands for larger newsrooms, with variations per region.

Publishers everywhere can apply for funds via a simple application form, the last date for which is April 29.

Additionally, Google.org is giving $1 million collectively to the International Center for Journalists, which plans to provide immediate resources to support reporters globally, and the Columbia Journalism School's Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma which is helping journalists exposed to traumatic events experienced during the crisis.