San Francisco - First fact-checking came to Facebook. Now it's coming to Google.
The world's largest search engine is rolling out a new
feature that places "Fact Check" tags on snippets of articles in
its News results. The Alphabet unit had already run limited tests. On Friday,
it extended the capability to every listing in its News pages and massive
search catalogue.
This is the latest sign Google is responding to mounting
pressure to police content it hosts online after criticism the company, and
other internet firms, help spread misinformation.
Google isn't entirely giving up its usual hands-off
approach: The company is letting others do the fact-checking. The
approach is meant to legitimise or question claims online, Google said in
a blog post. Checked search results list the name of the person or group making
the assertion and the determination of the fact-checker.
Although Google is working with established fact-checking
organizations, like PolitiFact and Snopes, it's also opening up the system to
publishers including The Washington Post and The New York Times. In theory,
media organisations could use the new feature to fact-check each other. Or
publishers could give different verdicts on the veracity of the same
article.
"These fact checks are not Google’s and are
presented so people can make more informed judgments," Google said.
"Even though differing conclusions may be presented, we think it’s still
helpful for people to understand the degree of consensus around a particular
claim and have clear information on which sources agree."
Read also: LISTEN: YouTube's fight with internet's dark corners
While any publisher can apply to add fact-check labels to
content, Google search algorithms will determine whether they appear in
results, a spokeswoman said.
The company plans to reserve the label for search results
about addressable public claims of fact, rather than opinion. Publishers can
write the labels that appear next to results. Examples include
"True," "Mostly False," or "Pants on Fire!" (a favourite
of PolitiFact).
Outcry over the influence of misinformation, or
"fake news," began after the US Presidential election. Facebook, a
leading driver of online traffic to publishers in the US, took the brunt of
criticism. On Thursday, the company introduced new features in its
flagship social network designed to show users how to detect false
news.
But Google has not been immune to scrutiny. Critics have
pointed to several instances of inaccurate and misleading articles surfacing in
search results. Such examples are particularly stark when Google delivers what
it finds in the form of tiny snippets, a priority for the company in
recent years.
"From our perspective, there should just be no
situation where fake news gets distributed, so we are all for doing better
here," Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told BBC News shortly
after the US election.
Google is not paying publications or fact-checking
organizations. A spokeswoman for Google said articles that used the new
fact-check label would not be ranked differently in search results.